Changing Fate
by The Silver Feathered Raven
Summary: If their fate is already decided...if the end of the journey is already set in stone...what are they going to do? Fight it with every fiber of their being.
1. Bloodied Bandages

**Changing Fate**

by

The Silver Feathered Raven

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Saiyuki or anything related to it. It all belongs to Kazuya Minekura. I _do_, however, own any and all original characters that may/may not appear in this story, as well as the particular plot that this story follows.

**Warning:** Rated for blood/gore, sexual remarks, language, and possibly several other things that appear as this story progresses.

**Author's Note:** Hello, and welcome to **Changing Fate**. This is not my first attempt at this fandom, though this is the first full length story that I have posted. For reference, this story takes place directly after the 'Kami-sama' arc in the manga, though there are very few spoilers, and those that are there are very mild.

I hope that you enjoy this. I'll try to keep the characters in character, though there will be some places where they will be stretched a little to fit the story. If you see them jumping too far out of character, however, please tell me and I will try to fix it. If you see spelling/grammar errors, feel free to point them out as well.

And now, please enjoy.

* * *

Round 1: Bloodied Bandages

Most people,upon seeing four men covered almost completely in blood, would run. Most people would panic, not know what to do. The owner of a small inn that was located in a village in the lower part of China simply shook his head and opened the door, helping the most injured of them inside. The rest followed.

"Looks like your 'god' had a field day," he commented, unlocking one of the rooms, still supporting the priest.

The dark haired man who followed gave him a weak smile. "Yes, well, he got off a bit worse." He stumbled inside, holding onto the shoulders of a tall redhead, though it wasn't certain who was supporting whom; both were covered in blood, their faces white. As soon as they had passed the threshold into the room they collapsed onto the floor.

"Get the hell off me, Hakkai." The redhead pushed Hakkai to the side, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Crap, this is pretty bad, isn't it."

"I'll bring you some bandages then, shall I?" said the barkeeper, helping the blond priest into a chair and then turning and exiting the room.

"Yes, it is pretty bad, Gojyo. I'm surprised that the innkeeper didn't run from us in fear when he saw us. In our state, I'm afraid that we would scare away most people." Hakkai removed the cracked monocle from his eyes, wiping away a smear of blood from his cheek. There was adeep slash in the skin that was still bleeding freely.

"Tch, he's already seen us like this before," said the priest, slumped in the chair, holding his side, blood running between his fingers. "And where the hell are those bandages?"

Gojyo looked over at the blond, sneering as best he could, though it turned out as more of a grimace. "Is the great Sanzo admitting a defeat?"

"How is that admitting defeat, kappa? Use your brain before you open that mouth of yours," snarled Sanzo. It looked as though he wanted to hit the redhead with something but he simply stayed where he was, his hand clamped over his side.

The fourth member of the group was sitting on the edge of the bed, rolling up his pant leg, exposing a long, jagged cut. "Th' bandages would be real nice about now," he said, wincing as he picked out a piece of rock that was half imbedded in his leg.

Hakkai moved slightly from where he was laying, sitting up and reaching out with a hand. "I could heal that, Goku—"

Using one foot, Gojyo pushed the man back to the ground. "Don't even think about it, Hakkai. You should know by know what happens when you heal when you're injured," he growled. The door creaked open, causing him to turn and look. "Ah, good. Bandages."

"What's this about me admitting defeat?" demanded the priest, who then let out a strangled groan as he shifted his weight, stretching the wound in his side.

The barkeeper had re-entered the room, holding an armful of gauze strips, medical tape, and bottles of peroxide and alcohol. "Here's what I have with me. I'll call doctor, have him come and patch you up."

"Thank you," said Hakkai, pushing Gojyo's leg aside and taking some of the supplies. "It is very kind of you to help us out like this."

"Don't think anything of it," responded the barkeeper as he left the room again.

Hakkai sighed and sat down on the bed next to Goku. "Here, I've got to make sure that there's nothing left in that wound, all right, Goku?"

Goku nodded, holding back his pant leg as Hakkai examined the slash. The healer poured alcohol over his hands, sterilizing them, then set about removing bits and pieces of shattered rock and splintered wood. The eighteen year old flinched every once in a while as particularly large pieces would be removed.

"Ow! Watch it, Hakkai!"

"Sorry about that." Hakkai smiled and continued his work.

To the side, Sanzo had removed his shirt and was pressing a wad of cloth over the cut in his side, the crimson liquid seeping through it even as he tried to staunch the flow. His body was covered in similar cuts—though none were as deep or a serious—as well as numerous scrapes and bruises.

"Damned doctor," he growled, his face white. "How long does it take to get over here?"

"Long enough for you to die first," said Gojyo with another attempted smirk. "Hey, Hakkai! Toss me one of those things of alcohol."

Hakkai handed the kappa one of the bottles. "It's not for drinking, Gojyo."

Gojyo rolled his eyes, opening the bottle and saturating a cloth, using it to clean a deep gash in his arm. "I know that, Hakkai. You don't need to remind me. Damn, that stings."

Hakkai gave a low chuckle, then opened a bottle of his own. "Goku, this is going to hurt a bit…"

"I'm not scared of—ow! Hakkai!"

"I did just warn you, if you care to recall." The man had poured a liberal amount of the liquid over Goku's leg, disinfecting the cut. Now he bound it with a length of cloth. "There you go. Now, Sanzo, I better—"

"I'm _fine_," snarled the priest, though it was obvious that he was not from the sight of his blood covered body, as well as the fact that the bandage on his side was now soaked completely. "Take care of yourself. You're not much better off than the rest of us."

"Yeah, Hakkai. You probably should get th' wound on your head fixed."

Hakkai reached up, touching a spot near his temple and wincing. "I suppose you are right."

When the doctor finally arrived he found that he had his hands full, dealing with four men with more injuries than he cared to count.

…

Sanzo grit his teeth into the cloth in his mouth, eyes closed tightly. Despite the fact that the doctor had used something to numb his side, getting his skin sewn back together was painful. At least the bleeding would stop, he reasoned in his mind, one hand gripping the edge of the chair until his knuckles turned white. If he knew that this wasn't necessary then he would have shot the man long ago.

Of course, shooting him would have some other consequences, such as the loss of someone to fix up their wounds. Hakkai wouldn't be able to do anything for some time now, so unfortunately they needed the damned doctor.

He winced slightly as the man slid the needle through his side, pulling the thread tight. At least Kami-sama was gone. The oddly child-like imitation Sanzo was dead, most likely buried under the rubble that had once made up his castle. The thought that they would never have to return to that castle to face that man again made getting his side sewn up worth while.

"I'm hungry!"

Sanzo took a deep breath, willing himself not to yell at the monkey. The only thing that kept him from whacking the boy over the head with his harisan was the procedure that he was currently undergoing. He opened his eyes a crack.

"Shut it, monkey," he growled, his voice muffled from the wad of material in his mouth to keep him from biting his tongue. His grip on the side of the chair tightened as the doctor pulled the thread tight again.

Hakkai, who was already bandaged and fixed up, gave one of his amused smiles. "Oh, come now, Sanzo. We just finished a very strenuous ordeal. He has a right to be hungry. In fact, if I can remember correctly, we all admitted to being quite hungry earlier."

Sanzo glared at the green-eyed man but decided not to speak on that topic any longer. "Feh." Once again, no one quite understood what he said as the cloth in his mouth obstructed the word.

"Oh, is the almighty Sanzo out of insults?"

There was a clicking sound as Sanzo pulled out his gun and aimed it at the head of the offending kappa. With his free hand he pulled the cloth from his mouth.

"What was that you were saying?"

"Please, sir," said the doctor, one hand on Sanzo's shoulder to hold him still, "do not move. I doubt you want these stitches redone." He deftly tied off the end of the thread, cutting it, then sterilizing the needle with alcohol. "I would advise you to be very careful not to reopen these wounds. So no quick movements. Or fighting," he added, giving them all a dark look.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure that they do nothing of the sort," assured Hakkai. Sanzo gave a sigh of annoyance and lit a cigarette, leaning back in his chair. His side still hurt like hell, but smoking would probably take his mind off it.

His back hurt as well, though that wasn't surprising, seeing as how Kami-sama's castle had practically collapsed on top of them. The stone and debris from it had hit them, though they were spared the worst of it. He preferred not to think about what the doctor had dug out of his flesh. Couldn't be any worse than what Hakkai had taken out of Goku's leg, could it?

"Hungry, hungry, hungry!"

"Hey, Hakkai," called out the kappa from the far side of the room. "Did the bar-keep say if he was gonna send up some food?"

"I do hope that he will. I would prefer not to starve."

Which reminded Sanzo that he, too, was very hungry. "Will someone tell him to bring some up?"

Gojyo gave a lopsided grin, which he actually accomplished this time, a white smoke rising from the cigarette that he held in his hand. "What, too lazy, Sanzo-chan?"

He aimed his gun at the redheaded water demon. "Would you like a hole in your head?"

The doctor, who was still in the room, edged towards the door. "I'll tell him to send something up." Then, with steps that were too fast for someone walking casually, he left the room.

"You scared him off, Sanzo!"

"Shut it, monkey."

Goku flopped down on the bed, then sat back up instantly. "Ow! Stupid back." He reached and touched the bandages. "Stupid," he repeated. The boy looked very miserable, being hungry as well as being prevented from doing any of his normal twitches by a mass of bandages and the promise of pain if he moved the wrong way.

"Don't worry, Goku. I'm sure that we shall have food soon," said Hakkai, far to brightly for someone who had just been attacked by toys made of souls, peppered with small beads had been particularly painful, been nearly shot by Sanzo, and had a castle collapse on him. "Unless the doctor decided that withholding food from us would be an ample punishment for pulling a gun in his presence." He looked pointedly at the blond monk, who was currently smoking away, ignoring what he was saying.

"He wouldn't do that! Would he?" Goku asked in a state of shock. He turned to Sanzo, his eyes wide. "Sanzo! What if they don't—"

"Silence. I'd like not to have to listen to your incessant chattering for one moment." He paused, glancing at the forlorn looking monkey. "Goku, use your brain. A doctor would not prevent his patients from eating. It would interfere with their recovery. And Hakkai, stop misleading the monkey."

Hakkai inclined his head. "I'm sorry."

Gojyo sat up, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "You don't have anything to be sorry for, Hakkai. Besides, _I_ could tell that it was a joke. Unlike some humorless monk."

"It wasn't funny! What if they really didn't bring us any food?"

Gojyo rolled his eyes. "So the monk and the monk_ey_ didn't get it. Sucks for them."

There was silence for a moment, Sanzo trying to ignore the comments of the red haired kappa. Then:

"Sanzo?"

"Neh. What?" He looked up, thoroughly annoyed.

Goku fidgeted slightly where he sat. "Umm, who was he? I mean—"

Sanzo sighed. "You've asked that before. I don't know, and I couldn't care less. He's dead. Stop wasting your thoughts on him."

"But Sanzo—"

"I said _silence._"

Gojyo threw a wad of medical tape at the priest. "Oy, Sanzo. You said you knew that other Sanzo. Kami-sama's _sensei_."

"Yes. Knew being the key word. I have no idea where he would be now." A vein throbbed dangerously in Sanzo's forehead as he brushed the tape off of him. It was a very good thing that he was across the room from Gojyo and the kappa knew it.

"Not what I was going to say. That Kami-sama guy didn't have a sutra. So, then, if this umoboshi guy—"

"Umoboshi?" Goku perked up at the mention of food. If the monkey had been closer to him, Sanzo would have whacked him over the head with his harisen.

"Ukoku," he said irritably. "He only had one sutra. If he's still alive and still has the muten sutra then that is one more sutra that the enemy doesn't have. We know they have at least one. The other—"

"Buried in the desert, so they wouldn't have that one," put in Goku, trying to say something useful.

"Idiot. If they needed that sutra then they would have dug it up. I'd bet that they have it by now." Sanzo leaned back in his chair, mindful of the injuries on his back, and closed his eyes. "I still have the maten sutra. That means that there is one unaccounted for."

"Of course," added Hakkai, "as long as we keep yours out of their hands they won't have it."

"That is fairly obvious, Hakkai."

"I meant—"

"We know, Hakkai," said Gojyo, looking at the door. "You know, I wonder if the doctor really did forget to tell the bar-keep about the food."

"No! I need my food!"

They watched as the monkey got up and began to limp to the door.

"Where are you going, Goku?" asked Hakkai, though he had an idea what was on the boy's mind.

"I'm gonna go down there and get some food!" he announced, one hand reaching out to open the door. As he touched it, the door swung open, catching him off balance. He stumbled, grabbing the side of the door to keep himself upright.

"Careful there, Goku," called out Hakkai, who walked over and opened the door fully. The barkeeper stood there, holding a tray of food. "Thank you very much for this. I will take it now."

The barkeeper nodded, handing the tray to the green eyed man. "Hope that works for you. If you need anything else, just call down the hall. Someone will hear you." He turned, leaving as quickly as he had come, closing the door firmly behind him.

"Yay! Food!"

Hakkai shook his head slightly, an amused smile playing on his lips. He set the tray down on a table and pulled up a chair. "We have food."

Sanzo looked up. "Good. Goku, don't eat all of it."

"But I'm so hung—"

This time, the monkey was close enough to Sanzo and ended up being hit over the head with the paper fan.

"Ow!"

Sanzo pulled his chair closer to the table, sighing heavily as he sat down. "Well?" he said, looking up at the others. "Are you going to eat?"

That was all that Goku needed; in fact, before Sanzo had spoken he had already grabbed up a bowl of rice, shoveling it into his mouth. Gojyo had hauled himself over to the table and was eating in a similar—if not as messy—fashion. The others ate more sedately, rather than consuming as much food as they could in a very short amount of time.

Within a verysmall amount of time, the food was gone. It had not been all that much to begin with and, according to Goku, it had been nowhere near enough. This announcement had been greeted by Sanzo's fan to the back of his head, though that had not stopped the argument that began between Gojyo and the monkey.

The meal had ended very badly, with a dispute between the same two, fighting over one piece of food or another. To all of this Hakkai simply smiled, acknowledging that things were back to normal. Sanzo merely wished that they would all shut up—he did say this several times, accompanied with several shots from his gun for effect—as his head was hurting terribly.

Eventually they quieted down. After quite a few threats from the priest, that is. And eventually they decided who would sleep on the beds, Hakkai calling down to the barkeeper that they either needed another room or two pallets.

With everything settled for that day, they slept. Kami-sama was gone and for a time they could simply rest.

* * *

**A/N2**: Questions? Comments? Are Sanzo and co. in character? Constructive critisim welcome. 

Raven


	2. Conversations

**A/N:** Well, here it is. Chapter two. I actually had this done a couple of days after I posted chapter one, but then I realized that Gojyo wasn't as in character as he could be.

I named the barkeeper in this chapter; it's a Chinese name. Actually, just as a note for future reference, any characters either added or not named in canon will have Japanese, Chinese, or Hindi names. There will be no 'made up' names in this story.

Anyway, enjoy this chapter.

Oh, and please tell me if anyone seems out of character or if there are spelling/grammar mistakes. Thanks.

* * *

Round 2: Conversations 

"Is that really him?"

"Yeah. There's a rumor—are you listening to me? There's a rumor that they just went and killed a _god_."

"A god? That's not what I heard. I heard that it was a giant monster. You know, the one that's been living in the forest?"

"_I_ heardthis loudrumbling sound that came from the forest the other day. I reckon it was him."

"Yeah? I reckon it was your stomach."

Sitting in the bar, wearing a black shirt and khaki pants—not his normal fare—Priest Genjyo Sanzo had to endure the glances and whispered words. It didn't bother him that much, just as long as they didn't come and begin to beg for him to bless them or something like that.

"They don't know you're a priest, just in case you're wondering." Hakkai sat down on a stool beside the blond. "All they know is that we came out of the forest, having killed something. A number of them saw our return, so there's a number of rumors."

"Feh." Sanzo exhaled, a white cloud of smoke blowing up in front of his face. "So we've got a whole bunch of idiots claiming to know something about what happened."

Hakkai waved a hand, trying to disperse the smoke. "Look, Sanzo, they all knew that there was something…wrong…with that forest. And they know that whatever was in there is now dead."

"And they're smart enough to reason that we killed whatever it was?" Sanzo rested his elbows on the counter, sitting in a very relaxed position, or at least it was relaxed for Sanzo, his eyes on the newspaper in front of him. "It's not my problem, in any case. I could care less what they think."

Hakkai regarded Sanzo with expressionless eyes. "You know, it's most likely a good thing that you have your head bandaged like that. If they figured out that you are a prie—"

"Well, they won't. At least, not for awhile." He smoked away steadily, the lit end of his cigarette glowing red for a moment as he tapped off the excess ash. "How long do you think before we are ready to head out?"

Hakkai shrugged. "Depends entirely on whether we think it is a greater risk staying here or leaving. Youkai could show up at any moment, here or out in the wild. Here, at least, there are others around. Before you say anything, I know that we are trying not to get others involved. But I think we would all prefer _not_ dying. If we stay here there are people around who could protect us in case—"

"I don't need protection, Hakkai," Sanzo said irritably. "Especially not from a bunch of piss-for-brains idiots who have no clue what they are up against. Got it?"

"Yes, well…" Sanzo's words seemed to have momentarily shaken Hakkai from what he had been trying to say. "Wrong word choice, then. What I meant to say was that we could lie low here for awhile. At least three more days. I would recommend far longer—say a week to a month—but I know that we can't afford to wait that long. Either way, we will want to wait until you and Gojyo can have you stitches safely removed."

"I don't want that damned kappa slowing us down!"

"Talking about me, Sanzo-chan?"

Sanzo grit his teeth as he heard the singsong voice. "What do you want?"

Gojyo draped himself over one of the barstools, propping his feet up on another, cigarette in his mouth. "I happened to hear my name. Didn't know I was so popular with you, oh great Sanzo."

Sanzo pulled out his gun. "May I shoot him?"

Hakkai gave a short laugh. "I thought you didn't want to attract attention?"

Sanzo set the gun back in its holster. "I suppose I will have to make yet another sacrifice for you, Gojyo. So shut up or next time I won't worry about what anyone else notices."

"Is that a threat?" Gojyo continued to taunt the priest, regardless of the repercussions.

"Gojyo, I agree with Sanzo on this. Be quiet." Hakkai crossed his arms, regarding the two of them calmly. "We were just talking about how long we are going to have to stay here. How are you—we might as well ask, Sanzo—feeling? Or rather, how is that rather nasty wound in your chest?"

"Better then when Sanzo shot me," said Gojyo, smirking. "Though it might be nice to stay here. They've got beer, so it's all good."

Hakkai frowned. "Speaking of beer, you're not supposed to have alcohol so soon after being injured. I would advise against smoking as well, but I'm afraid that it would take something far more drastic to stop the two of you."

"Damn straight." Gojyo blew out a breath of smoke, right into Hakkai's face.

"Hey, guys! Guys!" Goku bounded up like an exuberant animal.

"And the monkey's already perfectly fine," muttered Gojyo, crushing his cigarette and lighting another.

Goku leapt onto a chair, bouncing slightly, his feet tapping the floor. "Hey, I was—"

"If you say that you are hungry, I'm going to shoot you."

Goku wilted slightly, though his energy still stayed high. "I wasn't going t' say that! Really!"

"I'm sure."

"Really!" he protested, leaning forward towards them. "I was just going t' ask if—"

"Does it have anything to do with food?" cut in the kappa, smoke curling around his head. "Does it?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Don't want to hear it," said Sanzo sharply. "Can't you keep your mouth shut for ten seconds?"

Ten seconds passed before an agitated Goku responded. "Yes, I can! Anyway, I was just going t' ask when we were going t' go get th' ramen! Remember?" he asked, seeing the blank looks on their faces. "Come on, don't you remember? On the stairs? Hello?"

"Ah, yes." Hakkai broke the sudden silence first. "Those never-ending stairs. We all agreed that when this was over we would go get some ramen."

"With pork ribs," added Gojyo, remembering. "And Sanzo wanted mayonnaise in his, right?"

"I seem to recall that he said something like that. But I don't think that we can go get the ramen now."

"But why, Hakkai? I'm so hung—"

"Silence!"

"Because we are still recovering," explained Hakkai, the most patient of the three. "Don't worry, Goku. We'll have ramen before we leave this town."

"Yay! Ramen!"

"_Silence_!" Sanzo slammed his hands down on the table, crumpling the edges of the newspaper as he did so. "I don't want to hear anything else about ramen, do you hear me?"

"Come on, Sanzo—"

"Not one more word."

…

Sha Gojyo was fond of women. Actually, he was more than simply fond of them: in his mind, if there were no women in the world than life wasn't quite worth living. With his good looks it was easy enough to charm all the women he wanted into his bed. One would think that being injured would make him take a break, maybe make him stop trying to seduce women for a while.

Instead, Gojyo used his injuries to his advantage. After all, you can get a lot of sympathy off of a fabricated story where you're the hero, get hurt, and kick ass all at the same time.

With all of his companions gone—including the priest, who would normally beat the kappa over the head with his fan whenever said kappa tried to pick up chicks—Gojyo was able to try this tactic on any good looking woman who passed his way.

He had several problems with this, however. The first was that there were not a lot of women in the bar that was adjoined to the inn. A few serving girls, who he had already tried flirting with, gave him a myriad of different reactions. One or two of them were too shy to do anything but blush and giggle, another had given him a teasing smile only to hold out her hand and show him that she had was wearing a wedding band. The last had glowered at him, telling him to leave her alone—though with much less polite wording—or she would shove the serving tray up a certain body cavity of his.

_Not a very polite girl_, he thought, watching the sway of her hips as she stalked away. _But then, I might have been a _little_ too persistent._ What could he say? The girl had been uncommonly good looking and it was only someone who was incredibly stupid who would pass up an opportunity to get her between the sheets. So maybe the girl had a reason to fling exceedingly vile expletives at him…

There were a few other women in the room as well, though a few of them already had male companions. One sat alone, which would have given Gojyo a reason to try his luck on her, but from what he could see she was not particularly attractive. Not ugly, but not attractive. And from where he was sitting, he couldn't quite tell how old she was. Oh, her shape was curvaceous and her she _seemed_ young, but her hair was completely white with silver streaks, prematurely grey.

When she turned so that he could fully see her face, he decided that he might try to get her into his bed. She was young, with far-set dark eyes and pale skin. Pretty enough. But, then realizing why she had turned around, he reasoned that he probably shouldn't try at all.

There had been a shout, a high pitched cry that cut through the relative silence in the room. Short, loud, and then a small dark shape streaked across the room towards her.

"Mother!"

A child normally meant that there was a father somewhere around and Gojyo really didn't feel like getting into a huge mess at the moment. Besides, he reasoned, there was probably no way he could get an extra room and even if he did Sanzo would most likely rant and rave at him for hours about going off by himself. And then Hakkai would lecture him about doing certain things in his condition. And then that naïve little monkey would make some comment that would shut everyone up, as they didn't want to explain _everything_ to him at the moment.

"What is it, Vatsa?" the woman asked, picking up what Gojyo could now see was a very small, very muddy boy.

"Goro pushed me in the mud," the boy said with a sniffle, sitting in his mother's lap and getting mud all over her clothing. "An' he called me a bunch of words. But I don' know what they mean."

"Well, do not repeat them, whatever they were," she said, smoothing the boys muddy hair. "And do not worry about Goro. Now, you are all dirty. Your aunt is in our rooms; go and get a bath."

"But Mother!"

"No buts," she said sternly, though there was a smile playing around her lips. "Go."

The boy pouted but he left the room, climbing the stairs that lead up out of the bar and passed out of Gojyo's sight.

"Cute kid," he commented. The woman turned, startled at first, and them smiled.

"Yes, he is. But a handful." Gojyo noticed that she wasn't wearing a ring on any of her fingers. Maybe he would…no; not when there was a kid involved. But that didn't mean he couldn't have a conversation. After all, a conversation with a woman wouldn't end up with a bullet being shot at his head, would it? Then again, he thought to himself, would he really be able to have conversation with a woman without hitting on her?

"Looks like it." He tapped off the ash from his cigarette in the ashtray. "How old is he?"

"Oh, around seven," she answered. Gojyo noticed that she kept glancing up at his hair and he felt only minutely uncomfortable. After all, he had gotten used to all the looks that his hair and eye color got. But this woman didn't seem to be looking at him in revulsion for knowing what the color meant or with fascination at the strangeness of it. She simply looked—there was no other way to put it—surprised. "He's been getting into fights, or rather, one of the kids around here has been getting into fights with him."  
"Comes in covered in mud often?" Gojyo asked, thinking back to a few good memories from his childhood that involved mud puddles.

She nodded, looking down at her now mud covered clothing. "Yes. But his aunt will get him cleaned up. Though I'm probably a bit mean to be dumping him on her." She gave him a warm smile. "Oh well. I'm Kioko, by the way." She held out her hand to him.

"Gojyo," he said, shaking her hand. "Pleased to meet you, beautiful. And what was your son's name?"

"Vatsa." Kioko picked up her glass that had been sitting on the table, taking a sip of its contents. "The boy, Goro, has been teasing him about it for quite a long time. I'm fairly certain that that was what sparked the fight this time. Though it could have been something else."

"Knowing boys, it could have been anything," he commented, stretching slightly, cat-like, and wincing as a touch of pain lanced through his chest. Damn Kami-sama for giving him that wound. "I'd say that he'll grow out of getting in fights, but that would probably be a lie."

"Speaking of fights," Kioko began, setting down the glass, "you are one of the men, the ones who got rid of whatever was in the forest, weren't you?"

Gojyo nodded. "Yeah, I am. How'd you know?"

Kioko pointed to his heavily bandaged arm. "Everyone here knows that four men showed up, terribly wounded, the other day. No one else here would be covered in bandages unless it was one of them. Anyway, I would like to thank you, Gojyo-san."

"For what, exactly?"

"For making it safer for my boy to go outside. Not that it is entirely safe, but with that—that _thing_ in there…" She shuddered. "I would prefer not to think about it. Just…thank you."

"You're welcome." Well, he hadn't _really _tried to hit on her yet. She really wasn't that _that_ bad looking. The hair was more silver than grey and was pretty, in a unique sort of way. She _was_ attractive; come to think of it…He switched chairs so that he was sitting opposite her at the table. Only one question to ask now, since he had noticed she wasn't wearing a wedding band. "So," he began, taking the cigarette from his lips and leaning closer to her. "Your husband around?"

Her eyebrows rose in slight confusion. Then she gave a small laugh that she turned into a cough. "My husband? No. He's…well, I don't have a husband."

Well, then, so the boy was—

Before Gojyo could finish the thought, Kioko continued. "Vatsa's adopted, actually. I became his 'mother' when he was three. His aunt is actually the one that he was with before, but she says that she isn't his mother either. I don't really know the entire story, but she's been around his entire life. He hasn't known a time without her. Well…when she travels she is obviously not around, but other than that…" Her voice trailed off and she looked down into her glass before picking it up and taking a sip. "But he's a great kid. Don't know what I'd do without him."

"Well, I do like women who love kids." He winked at her.

Kioko smiled at him. He couldn't quite tell if she had picked up on his true meaning of his words or not; she wasn't blushing, as some girls did when they realized he was hitting on them, and she didn't look particularly interested, as was the response of others. Other than her smile, her only reaction was to pick back up her glass and take a sip of whatever was inside it. He figured that it was coffee from what he could see.

"So, beautiful," he said, leaning back and propping his feet up on the table, "you live around here, or are you just passing through?"

"Vatsa and I live here," she replied, pushing a silver lock of hair out of her face and ignoring his 'beautiful.' "On the other side of town, actually. We moved here two years ago. Lok-san and Vatsa's aunt helped us to settle down." She set down the empty cup. "And you? Well, I know that you don't live here, obviously, but how long are you staying?"

Maybe she was interested. He was sure that he could detect _something _in her voice. Gojyo shrugged. "Until we're ready to move on. Hakkai would probably like us to stay for a couple weeks, but it'll be two or three days if Sanzo has his way. Why do you ask? Is there something you want?" He leaned closer to her and was content to see that she had definitely gotten his meaning this time; her cheeks colored slightly.

Kioko, her cheeks still rosy, looked at him and smiled. "Might be." That was good. She was flirting with him now. Then she frowned. "But…but did you just say Sa—"

"Kioko!"

They both looked towards the stairwell. Another woman—who looked to be around Kioko's age—had just entered the floor. Gojyo looked at her in surprise; she was soaking wet.

She walked over to where Kioko was sitting, leaning on the back of her chair. "I'm going to get you back for this, Kioko."

It looked as though Kioko was trying hard not to laugh. "What did Vatsa do now?"

The woman sighed, indicating her sodden clothes with her hands. "He flooded the room."

"_What?_"

She nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. "You heard me right. He flooded the room. Where is Lok-san?"

Kioko pointed to the bar, still struggling not to laugh. "In the back room."

She sighed again. "Wonderful." She wrung out her long braid over Kioko's head, causing the woman to leap slightly in her seat, then headed off to find the barkeeper. "Lok-san!"

The barkeeper appeared at the door leading into the back room. "What is it?" He stopped, noticing the state of her clothes. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he could get the words out. "What happened?"

Gojyo watched with amusement as the woman leaned on the counter. "Vatsa. And I need towels. Lots of them."

"Hold on just a moment. Do you need anything else?"

"A bucket and a mop, most likely. The water's probably running out of the room by now." Gojyo laughed at the expression of panic on the barkeeper's face. Then he turned his attention back to the woman, taking the opportunity to see what he could of her, as her drenched clothes were sticking to her body in a very revealing manner. He was disappointed to see that she did not have the most curvaceous body.

She turned, walking back to where he and Kioko were sitting. "I'm sorry, I forgot my manners. I am Eshana."

"Sha Gojyo."

Eshana pulled back her friend's chair. "Well then, Sha Gojyo, please excuse us. Kioko, you are going to help me clean up this mess."

"Fine. Just hold on a moment…Gojyo-san, it was nice talking to you." Kioko rose from her chair, following after an irate Eshana.

"And you, Kioko-san." He gave her a very sly smile. "Maybe I'll see you tonight?"

Kioko just returned the smile and followed the other woman out of the room.

That had gone pretty well. At least, he thought so. He leaned back in his chair, still smoking, the smoke swirling in the air before him.

Yes, it had gone well.

…

Hakkai had taken to pacing, quickly getting very tired of staying in one small room in the inn. A constantly smoking Sanzo and a hungry Goku could wear on someone's nerves easily. At least Gojyo was gone, probably drinking at the bar, trying to pick up women. And Hakkai was still healing, too injured to leave the inn and do something else. Not that he didn't mind being able to rest and not having to worry about where they were going to sleep that night or having to cook every meal…

Sanzo was sitting on the bed, leaning against the wall with a newspaper in one hand and a cigarette in the other. White smoke curled around him and Hakkai could smell the ashy scent, which was not a smell that he particularly liked. The monk was still wearing the black shirt that the barkeeper had obtained for him and he was barefoot, one of his sandals finally wearing out during their sojourn in Kami-sama's castle.

They were all wearing borrowed clothes. With rents and tears, along with huge bloodstains that were not coming out, their old clothes were practically useless. Pretty much everything they were wearing now was something that had been supplied by the barkeeper.

He was a very kind and considerate man, Hakkai thought, to help four men who were obviously not the type you would want to meet on the street. They were paying him, of course, but there were not many that would still be willing to help them if they didn't know that Sanzo was a priest.

Of course, they couldn't go on wearing these clothes. Some of their old garments could be fixed and cleaned, Sanzo's robes for example, and most of Goku's ensemble, but his own clothing were pretty torn up and Gojyo's were stained completely with blood. Even if they were fixable, sewing was the one thing that Hakkai would not do. Cooking, driving, healing, all that he would do. But there was no way he was going to sew for them.

Which meant one thing: they would have to find a tailor in the town and buy new clothes. Not something that he looked forward to doing. Not with his current company, at any rate.

Hakkai stopped pacing and sat down in a chair, sighing. Within a moment Jeep had flown over, settling himself in his lap, cheeping and cooing as Hakkai scratched the dragon on his head. At least the dragon was good company.

He looked over at the blond monk. "Sanzo?"

The man didn't even look up from his paper as he answered. "What is it, Hakkai?"

Hakkai sighed again. "You've noticed the state of our clothing, correct?"

"Yes. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, before we can leave this town we are going need functional garments."

"Your point, Hakkai?" Sanzo glanced up from his reading, looking over the rims of his glasses.

"Sanzo, we're going to have to go…shopping."

"Shopping?" asked Goku, bounding over to him. "For food?"

"No, Goku," said Hakkai with an amused smile. "Not for food. For clothing." He thought that he heard Sanzo mutter something along the lines of 'wonderful' in the background.

Goku wilted visibly. "But we can't eat clothing."

Sanzo glared at him. "Are you being an idiot on purpose, monkey?"

"I'm not a monkey! Stop calling me a monkey!"

"Now, now, Goku." There was a very amused note in Hakkai's voice. "We can get some food while we are out."

"Yay! Food!"

Sanzo threw down his newspaper. "Damn it, Goku, be quiet!"

Goku continued to move around the room in an excited fashion, though he limped every other step because of his wounded leg. "Hakkai, I'm hungry now," he stated after a few moments. "Can we go get the food now?"

There was a dull thudding sound as Sanzo let his head fall back against the wall in an exasperated manner. "Idiot. Don't you think of anything other than food?"

"Yeah, sometimes…so, Hakkai, can we go get food?" Goku was not easily distracted, especially where food was concerned. "Can we?"

"We'll go shopping in a few days, Goku," said Hakkai, still scratching Jeep's head. "But you can head downstairs if you're hungry. The barkeeper's keeping a tab on how much we owe him, so we'll just pay before we leave."

"Food!" Goku scrambled for the door as fast as his injured leg could take him. He opened the door and looked outside. "Hey, guys? Did you know that there's a river in the hallway?"


	3. Marketplace

**A/N:** I wasn't planning to update this until the weekend, but...

Yes, so here it is. Chapter three. I swear, Gojyo took over while I was writing this. Really. He wasn't supposed to get about half of the last chapter and a third of this chapter for himself. But he did. And he got a whole one-shot for himself.

Also, the kappa curses in the beginning of this. Just warning you...

Enjoy!

* * *

Round 3: Marketplace 

"This is _idiotic_," snarled Sanzo as they left the shop. "Remind me again why I'm out here with you again?"

"Because you needed new shoes, Sanzo," responded Hakkai, holding several packages of clothing and other goods that they had already purchased in his arms. "And I do think that the boots you got are a lot more practical than those sandals."

"Feh."

Sanzo was very irritated with the entire process of going into a shop, trying on shoes, listening to Gojyo hit on a salesgirl, try on more shoes, and watch Gojyo hit on even more girls. At least he had his fan with him, so that he could hit the damned kappa over the head if he got too annoyed. Inwardly, he cursed Kami-sama for this, as it was the whole event involving him that had led to the breaking of his sandals. If it weren't for him he could be back at the inn, smoking and reading the newspaper, instead of out here with _these_ idiots. He glared at the back of Gojyo and Goku's heads; the two were arguing again. His hand twitched, automatically moving towards where his gun hung at his hip. Unfortunately, Hakkai had advised that they not draw any more attention to them, as they would not be as able to fend off youkai attacks if they were to show up. Sanzo had grudgingly agreed, knowing that Hakkai was right.

Sanzo glanced down at his feet. He had finally tossed the sandals, though he had had to wear them until he bought new shoes. A pair of black boots, and he had to admit that they _were_ more practical. And far more comfortable. Hakkai was right, yet again.

Damn it.

Ahead of him the monkey and the kappa were still arguing. And getting louder. He reached towards his gun again.

"Sanzo."

He looked up and saw Hakkai watching him. Damn it. But then…

Hakkai hadn't said anything about not using his fan.

"_Shut the hell up! Both of you!_"

He hit Goku first, and then, just because he felt like it, he aimed for Gojyo. The kappa, being marginally smarter than the monkey, ducked. Sanzo, being far smarter than either of them, had aimed about a foot below where Gojyo's head had been. Resulting, of course, in the half youkai getting hit fully across the back of his head.

"Damn it, Sanzo! What's your problem?" Gojyo turned around, rubbing a hand over the back of his head, a pissed expression on his face.

"You're my problem, kappa! Now, shut that damned mouth of yours before I hit you again!" He was getting a headache. _Another_ headache. The yelling really wasn't helping it, either, but there was no way that he was going to stop, especially since Gojyo's voice was rising as well.

"I'll shut my mouth when _I_ want to! I don't need a fucking priest telling me what to do!"

Despite Hakkai's words from before, Sanzo whipped out his gun and aimed it at the offending man's head. "How 'bout this, then? Shut the hell up or I'll put a hole through that head of yours!"

Gojyo laughed, causing Sanzo to grow even angrier. "You haven't been able to hit me yet, Sanzo! What makes you think you'll be able to hit me now?"

To the side, Hakkai set a hand to his head, a smile on his face. "Sanzo? You should probably put your gun away. People are starting to stare."

"What do I care about them?" The gun remained pointed at Gojyo. "Now. Shut. The. Hel—"

"Sanzo!"

The incredibly annoying voice cut through his own. He turned his head, looking down at Goku, who was now sitting on the ground, obviously bored with what was going on.

"What?" he snapped, not moving the gun. His finger tightened ever so slightly on the trigger. "If you say that you're hungry, I will shoot _both_ of you."

Goku looked up at him with those annoying golden eyes. "But Sanzo, you _can't_ kill us! You need us for th' mission!"

"Who said anything about killing you?"

Hakkai, who was not able to interfere as his arms were full of bags, began to speak. "If you shoot either of them, Sanzo, we're going to be stuck here for a lot longer. So—"

"Fine." Sanzo lowered the gun, returning it to its holster. "You get to live. For now."

Goku looked at him in confusion. "But you just said that you weren't going to kill—"

"Goku, now would not be the best time for that," said Hakkai. "Now, could you please take some of these bags? You can carry the ones with the food, as long as you don't eat anything."

"All right, Hakkai!" Goku leapt to his feet, taking the bags that Hakkai held out. "Hey, that's not enough food for tonight! We need more!"

Hakkai chuckled. "That will be enough, Goku. Besides—"

"Are planning on cooking?" asked Goku, staring up at him. "That would be—"

"Didn't I just tell you that I'd shoot you if you talked about food?" growled Sanzo, his hand resting on his gun. He really needed to shoot something.

"But Sanzo!"

"Now, now, Goku. I'm sure that Sanzo just doesn't like the noise." Hakkai glanced over at the priest. "Come to think of it, do you have a headache, Sanzo?"

"Yes," muttered the priest, so quietly that only Hakkai could hear him. "And their damned chatter is only making it worse."

Hakkai paused in step, thinking for a moment. Then he handed Sanzo a fair amount of the packages that he had been holding. "Here. Take these."

Sanzo looked down at the bags, tempted to drop them. Then he glared at Hakkai. "What does this have to do with my headache?"

Hakkai gave him one of his smiles. "Ah, Sanzo, it is obvious that you don't want to be out here. You can head back to the inn and have some peace and quiet."

Sanzo blinked. "I'm not carrying these."

"Ack! Don't drop that, Sanzo! It has eggs in it." Hakkai caught the bag before it even left Sanzo's arms. "Look, we are most likely going to buy quiet a bit more stuff, knowing Goku and Gojyo. Besides, taking this stuff back to the inn will give you a reason to get away from here without having to tell them that you have a headache."

"Fine." Sanzo took all the bags, holding them in his arms. He really wanted to drop them. Or shoot them. That would get rid of that urge to shoot something. But he had to admit that, once again, Hakkai was right. If he took the bags then he could head back to the inn and the stupid monkey and kappa didn't have to know that his head hurt. If there was one thing that he really didn't like doing, it was admitting that he was hurt. Hakkai could generally tell, so there was no reason not to tell him. After all, Hakkai rarely got on Sanzo's nerves, so he didn't really mind the black-haired man's concern every once in a while.

And getting away from Goku and Gojyo would be a welcome relief. Even as he began to walk away from them the headache was lessening, making it so that there was less pain wracking his body. He would never admit it, especially around his companions, but his side still hurt like hell. Every time he inhaled there would be sharp pain that lanced through his abdomen. But he had been hurt often enough so that the pain didn't show on his face. It was funny—in an odd, annoying way—how even when he tried to keep all his hurts hidden from the rest of the group, they still worried. Hakkai more so than the others, even if his face didn't show it.

Hakkai wouldn't make a big deal out of it, for which Sanzo was grateful. He would talk to him, ask him what was wrong—which still bothered him to a certain degree—and he would tell him, if it wasn't something too deep in his heart. Minor wounds and pains, yes, he would tell Hakkai about them. About the other things? No, they weren't for anyone but him to know about.

He was also grateful that Hakkai wouldn't tell the others when he was hurting like he was now. Gojyo would make some remark that would piss him off and Goku would worry, which was—in its own way—more annoying than what Gojyo would do.

The streets were fairly crowded and people jostled past him, brushing shoulders with him. Whenever someone touched him his left eye would twitch and if it weren't for the bags in his arms he would have shot someone by now. He was also torn between being glad that he wasn't dressed in his normal fare and being pissed for the same reason. If he were wearing his robes then no one would dare to brush past him in such a way. Of course, then he would have a million people trying to talk to him, to get him to stay and 'bless' their homes and other shit like that.

He couldn't wait until someone got it through their thick head that he had not become a Sanzo priest to help people.

Finally, after trudging through the streets of the town, wading through throngs of people, Sanzo made it back to the inn. He ignored those who sat in the bar, ignored the barkeeper, practically stomped up the stairs and into the room they were staying in. He set the bags down on the table—through 'set' was too gentle a word for it. He simply dropped them on the table, not caring if the eggs cracked. Then he dropped into a waiting chair, crushing his spent cigarette in the ashtray and lighting up another. He put his glasses on and picked up the newspaper.

He still had a headache. It was still there as he scanned over the pages of the paper. Not that reading was the best thing to do when having a headache, but Sanzo really didn't care. In fact, the connection between reading and headaches never even crossed his mind. But then, the biggest cause of headaches for him was his companions, so a minor one caused by reading was nothing.

…

Goku was in a good mood. For him, it was almost a treat to be helping Hakkai with the shopping, especially because he was more likely to buy him food than Sanzo was. Never mind that he was stuck carrying some of the bags; as soon as Sanzo had left they had divided the remaining ones among the three of them, though Gojyo had tried to get out of that. As it was, Gojyo had ended up with the heaviest ones, after some well-chosen words on Hakkai's part about how women liked a stronger man.

They were in the market place, looking for more food and Goku was quite happy to be running from stand to stand, looking at the wide selection of meat and vegetables. There were stands with fresh produce and others that were selling things already cooked, like meat buns.

"Hakkai! Hey, Hakkai!" He tugged on the man's sleeve. "Can I get a beef bun? Can I?"

Hakkai smiled down at the boy. "When we're done, all right?"

"But I'm hungry noooow!"

"Hey, monkey." Gojyo leaned on Goku's shoulders. "Don't you think of anything besides your stomach?"

"Ow! Gojyo, get off, you stupid cockroach! An' stop calling me monkey!" He ducked away, causing Gojyo to lose his balance and making him fall forward until he reached out and steadied himself.

"I would appreciate it if you _didn't_ touch me." The voice was fairly cold but there was a trace of amusement behind it. Goku smirked as Gojyo looked up and found that what he had used to stop his fall was the shoulder of a woman. Gojyo straightened instantly.

"Excuse me about that." He grinned at her, which Goku thought was a mistake, as the woman didn't look particularly happy about him having touched her.

Another woman, one with long white hair and holding the hand of a boy who came up to her waist, turned around, speaking to the first one. "Eshana, what are you stopping for—oh!" She looked fairly surprised as she spotted Gojyo. "Hello, Gojyo-san."

Beside him, Hakkai's eyebrows rose in slight surprise. "Do you know her, Gojyo?" There was a note of reprimand in his voice as he spoke to his friend.

"Yeah," said Gojyo with a grin, ignoring the tone of what Hakkai had just said. "Met her yesterday at the inn. Hakkai, this is Kioko-san. Kioko-san, Hakkai and th-Goku." It seemed as though he was about to call Goku a stupid monkey, but caught himself at the last moment.

"Pleased to meet you." Kioko gave a slight bow, which Hakkai returned. Goku was slightly distracted by the food and so he almost missed what happened next. "This is my friend Eshana," she said, gesturing towards the darker woman who stood beside her. "And this," she reached behind her back, taking the little boy's hand and drawing him forward, "is Vatsa."

The first thing Goku noticed about the boy were his eyes. They were very large as he was obviously amazed by these other people, especially Gojyo, who he was staring at. Goku also noticed that his eyes were a deep red. That in itself was not so odd, as Kougaiji had scarlet eyes. But this boy also had red hair, albeit it was very dark red, but it was still red. But then, Kougaiji had red hair, too…

"Mom?" said Vatsa, still looking up at Gojyo, who was also staring at the boy. "He looks like me. Is he my dad?"

Of all the things Goku liked, including food, one of the top things was seeing people momentarily struck dumb. He just found it amusing. And right now Gojyo was trying to speak but not finding any words. Vatsa's mother was red, though the corners of her mouth were quirking in the semblance of a smile. Hakkai was hiding his own smile behind his hand and Eshana was shaking her head in amusement.

"No, Vatsa," she said, for she was the first to recover, "he isn't."

"Oh." The boy actually seemed disappointed. He cast his eyes to the ground and scuffed his toes in the dirt. "I thought…"

"Ach, you wouldn't want Gojyo as your dad anyway," said Goku, loud enough for everyone to hear him. "He's a jerk an—"

"Oi, Monkey! Shut it!"

"I told you to stop calling me a monkey, you cockroach kappa! Hakkai, didn't I just tell him not to call me a monkey?" Goku turned towards the black haired man, his eyes wide. "Didn't I?"

Gojyo crossed his arms, glaring at the boy. "So you just go to Hakkai about this? Monkey."

"Perverted kappa!"

"Don't mind them," Hakkai said with a smile. "They're always like that."

"Very, ah…hyperactive," commented Eshana, watching the two as they continued to argue, an amused expression on her face.

Kioko was laughing; her hands over Vatsa's ears to keep him from hearing some of the words that Goku and Gojyo were spouting out. "How do you put up with them? I can imagine it would get pretty annoying after a while." She glanced down at Vatsa as she said this and even though the boy couldn't hear everything that she said he turned pink, realizing that said something that involved him.

"Mom…"

Hakkai stooped and picked up one of the bags that Gojyo had dropped when he started beating on Goku. "Yes, it gets slightly annoying. But we do have a mediator—he's just not here currently." He picked up the other bags, holding them all in his arms. Then he glanced over at the two men, who were still bickering, and shook his head. "I tend to just ignore them, to answer your question."

"You ignore us, Hakkai?" asked Goku, bounding away from Gojyo. "Really?"

"Well…"

"Ah, he's kidding, Goku," said Gojyo, coming up behind him and setting an arm around his shoulder. "How can _anyone_ ignore us?"

"Easily, Gojyo-san." Kioko had taken her hands off of Vatsa's ears and the boy was now distracted by a bright stand to the side. "Especially when I have this one to take care of…"

"Mom! Mom, can I have one of those? Can I?" Vatsa asked, bouncing up and down, pulling on his mother's arm.

"Vatsa, stop that. Maybe in a mome—"

"I'll take him, Kioko, if you want to keep talking with these people," said Eshana, taking the boy's free hand. "It was nice meeting you, Hakkai-san." She cast a disapproving glance at the other two and headed off into the crowded street, Vatsa clinging to her hand, her long dark braid swinging behind her as she walked.

"Hey, Hakkai," said Gojyo, moving so that he stood next to Kioko. "Why don't you go get Goku his beef bun now?"

Goku perked up instantly at the mention of food. "Can I get one now? Please, Hakkai?" He sounded almost exactly like Vatsa, even though there was at least a ten-year age difference between the two.

Hakkai sighed, shooting a glance towards Gojyo. "Yes, you can get one. Gojyo…"

"Yeah, I get it. Just go, Hakkai."

Hakkai knew precisely what Gojyo was trying to do. Might as well not argue with him; he doubted that it would work. Never had in the past, after all.

…

"Well, that got rid of everyone," commented Kioko as the other two left to get Goku his food. "I suppose children and friends do have their uses in getting each other out of the way." She grinned at him. "Though I have to say that amusement is also one of those uses."

Gojyo's face became tinged with pink but other than that he didn't seem the least bit embarrassed. "Sorry about that. So, do you want to get something to eat?"

Kioko shrugged. "I suppose so. Everyone else is, as Vatsa will probably drag Eshana off to get him something to eat. And there're plenty of vendors around here…" She glanced around as she spoke, pushing a strand of hair from where it had fallen into her face.

"Well, then, let's get something." Gojyo slipped his arm around Kioko's shoulders. "What do you want?"

"Are you paying?"

"Eh…" He checked the pocket of his jeans for money. "Yeah, guess so."

She shrugged again. "I really have no clue what I want. How 'bout we just walk around, get something if we feel like it?"

Gojyo grinned. "Sure, beautiful. Whatever you want."

"So," she began once they had started walking, "do you want to return to yesterday's conversation? Not that it was very interesting," she continued before he could even open his mouth to respond. "All we talked about was Vatsa."

"It wasn't a bad conversation. After all, it gave me a chance to talk to a beautiful woman." Gojyo slipped his arm from around her shoulders, bringing to down so that it settled around her waist.

"What beautiful woman would that be, Gojyo-san? If I recall, I was the only person talking to you at the time."

Gojyo pulled her closer to him so that their hips touched as they walked. "Hey, haven't you heard me call you beautiful all the time, beautiful?"

"You're just flirting with me, Gojyo-san. But I suppose that I should thank you for the complements. So, thank you." She moved herself far enough away from him that there was no longer any contact between their hips, though she let his arm remain around her waist.

"What's wrong with flirting? Besides, you enjoy it, don't you?"

Kioko laughed for a moment. "I guess so. It's not every day that I get the attention of an attractive man." There was a teasing quality to her voice as she said that, her eyes sparkling as she looked up at him. Then, very suddenly, she sobered, her face and tone becoming more serious, all humor lost in one instant. "Gojyo-san, you know what the red of his eyes and hair mean, don't you?"

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I know what they mean." He ran his free hand through his hair, holding out one of the crimson strands. "Seeing as I'm very similar to that boy. I didn't notice it yesterday; I guess the mud covered it up pretty well." He was trying to make it almost like a joke, but it wasn't working. Kioko's entire demeanor radiated seriousness.

"Gojyo-san," she said, an almost desperate note in her voice. "Gojyo-san, he's…you understand that he's…he's…" Her voice dropped to almost a whisper before she finished what she was saying. "That he's half youkai."

"And so am I," he pointed out in a voice much louder than hers, though not loud enough to draw attention. "You might not have realized it, but so are Hakkai and Goku."

"But…but their hair and eyes aren't—"

"It's complicated. But Kioko-san, it seemed as though there was something you really wanted to say." They paused under the shadow of a building, hiding from the midday sun. "What was it? You can tell me, if you need to."

He had dropped all the joking, flirtatious tones from his voice. It was obvious that Kioko did not want that at the moment.

Kioko swallowed hard, looking out over the crowded streets. "Well…" she began slowly, twisting her hands on the hem of her dress, "Gojyo-san, how did you deal with it? When you were a child?"

He frowned, watching her closely. "Deal with what?"

She took a deep breath before continuing. When she did her words came out quickly, in a long string, as though they had been bottled up inside for so long, pressure building all the while. And now something had created an outlet for those words.

"With the teasing," she began, not stopping to take a breath as the rest of the words poured out. "I mean, I suppose that you weren't necessarily teased. It might just be here. And not many people really know what the hair and eye thing mean, but they do know that it is uncommon and 'weird,' so to speak, and the other children—especially the boy, Goro—tease Vatsa and he sometimes has a hard time dealing with it, and I was just thinking that _maybe_ you would know something, some way that he could deal with it because I really don't want him to grow up thinking that he is a 'freak,' or something, because he isn't, and I really just was—"

"Kioko, stop." He set a hand on either of her shoulders, holding her steady as she gasped for breath. He noticed that there were tears shining in the corners of her eyes. "Just breath."

Kioko closed her eyes, inhaling deeply several times. "I-I'm sorry, Gojyo-san. It's just that I—"

"That you want to protect Vatsa. I understand." But he kind of didn't. Not when his own mother hadn't cared at all about what happened to him. And yet his brother had…so there was a small amount of what Kioko was saying and feeling that he could relate to. "I would say—" He laughed slightly, shaking his head. "I'm not really good at the whole 'advice' thing, Kioko. I guess that all I can say is…" He thought about what he had always hoped his mother would do when he came to her, covered in cuts and bruises, complaining about how the other kids teased him and beat him up. "Is to be there for him. I guess." He shrugged. "I got through everything, but I didn't have my mother there, so…" Gojyo took his hands off her shoulders as she reached up and wiped at her eyes.

"Did your mother die?" she asked, looking up at him with slightly reddened eyes. Gojyo clenched his jaw momentarily, remembering. Painful memories.

"Yeah." And it was the truth. She had died, but Kioko didn't need to know how.

"I'm sorry." She set a hand to his arm and the light pressure was comforting. Then she did something a bit unexpected, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him. Caught off guard, Gojyo hesitated for a moment, then wrapped his own around her. She might not be the most beautiful girl out there, but she was pretty damn nice.

"Hey, beautiful," he said as they pulled apart. "You want to go get a drink?"

Kioko smiled at him, the last traces of what had almost been tears gone from her face. "Yeah. That would be great."

* * *

A/N2: So there is it. Were they in character? Was Gojyo not flirting enough with Kioko? For that matter, is Kioko realistic enough? 

Till next time,

Raven


	4. Headaches

A/N: Here is the next chapter of this little story (though it might not be so _little_, I've got a lot more planned for it). This is the chapter that the plot begins to really start in, though the next one will really make the whole thing start moving. Before I start the chapter, however, I've got some things to say:

There is a bit of swearing in this chapter. Gotta love Sanzo's mouth. He gets into a really bad mood in this one...

Once again, thanks to everyone. And now...

* * *

Round 4: Headaches 

Hakkai scanned the semi-crowded street, looking for a flash of red hair that would show him where Gojyo was. A few bits of red caught his eye but upon closer examination they were nothing more than coats and banners. And Gojyo was definitely neither a coat, nor a banner.

"Hey, Hakkai?" He looked down to his side where Goku stood, holding several of the many bags that they had accumulated.

"Yes, Goku?" he asked, his eyes returning to scouting for Gojyo. He heard the boy sigh. "I may not be looking at you, Goku, but I am listening."

"Oh. All right. Well…" There was the rustling of a paper bag; Goku was obviously going after some of the food that they had purchased. "How long are we gonna be out here?" The sound of crinkling plastic as he opened whatever he had dug out of the depths of the bag.

Hakkai tightened his grip on the objects in his own arms as one of them began to slip. "I was planning on heading back soon. Though I highly doubt that Sanzo cares if _we_ get back. Or not. He is probably waiting for food right now."

Goku gave a small laugh. "So, he's not caring about us, right?" His words were slightly muffled by his mouthful of food.

Hakkai shrugged, still scanning the crowd of the tall kappa. "I really don't know, Goku. Currently? He's most likely only thinking why his food and smokes aren't there. But at other times…"

"So…" There was a flash of movement that Hakkai saw out of the corner of his eye; Goku had stuff the rest of his pastry—for that was what he was eating—into his mouth. "Mwehre whaithing mfor mhe pherpherted kapha?"

"Excuse me? Goku, please don't talk with your mouth full."

Goku swallowed, wiping crumbs from the corners of his mouth. "I asked if we were waiting for th' perverted kappa."

A smile tugged at the edge of Hakkai's mouth at Goku's name for Gojyo. "Yes, we are. I'd like to see that he doesn't go running off with Miss Kioko. And in our conditions, it is best not to be separated like this for a very long time. One never knows when we are to be attacked again."

"Eh, bu' we'd know if any of th' stupid youkai were coming," stated Goku, spraying crumbs from his half-full mouth. "After all, we can sense their--what was it that you called them? Auras?"

"Yes, auras. Be that as it may, it is still best to stick together until we are all fully recovered." Hakkai looked up at the sky; it was growing darker, the sun dipping down towards the western horizon. Not quite there yet, but it was still getting late.

"Excuse me, um, Hakkai-san?"

Hakkai turned around, slightly startled by the quite voice. There, standing to his right, was the woman from earlier—Eshana, if he remembered her name correctly—holding Vatsa in her arms. The boy had his arms curled around her neck, his head on her shoulders. His eyes were closed and from the way he was breathing it was obvious to Hakkai that he was fast asleep.

"Ah, Miss Eshana. Is there something I can do for you?"

Eshana gave him a small smile, adjusting her hold on the boy so that she didn't drop him. "I was wondering if you had seen Kioko. She went off with your friend some time ago, and I haven't seen her since."

Hakkai shook his head. "No, I have notseen her. Or Gojyo, for that matter."

She sighed, looking to either side as she did so, careful not to jostle the sleeping child. "Wonderful. She needs to take Vatsa home."

Hakkai looked around, spotting a bench against the wall of a shop. "It might be a while. Would you like to sit with us and wait for them?"

Eshana glanced towards the bench. "Well, I would be able to see her if she was in this part of the town from that bench…yes, I would."

They walked over to the bench, Hakkai setting his groceries on the ground. "Goku, you can set those down. But do be careful that you don't drop—"

"I got it, Hakkai. Don't worry 'bout it." Despite his words, Goku dropped the bags to the ground, then perched on the edge of the bench, watching as the other two sat down. Eshana moved slowly, careful not to wake the boy in her arms.

Hakkai sighed as he watched the bags hit the ground. "Goku…"

The dark haired girl smiled. "Children never do listen, do they?"

Goku's eyes widened as he heard her. "Hey, I'm not a child! I'm—"

"Goku-san?" Eshana turned to him, no longer smiling, through her face bespoke no anger.

"Yeah?"

"Please, don't talk so loudly. I would prefer not to wake Vatsa." She gave him a small smile, leaning back so that she was resting against the back of the bench.

Goku stared at her for a moment, then smiled back. "Sorry. I'll be quiet."

Beside Eshana, Hakkai gave a small laugh. "Surprising how quickly he will stop talking when asked nicely. I should tell Sanzo about that."

Eshana ran a hand through Vatsa's red hair, smoothing it away from his face. "Yes, asking a kid nicely tends to—wait, did you just say Sanzo? As in a…a Sanzo priest?" There was a slight quaver in her voice and he noticed that she had straightened just a bit when she had realized he had said the name Sanzo.

"Well, yes," Hakkai said, inwardly berating himself. Sanzo hadn't wanted word getting out that he was a priest; the blond man wasn't a fan of large crowds intent on speaking with him. Though he didn't quite see the harm in telling one person, except that they could tell another, and that one another, and so on, until everyone knew. "One of our...friends is a Sanzo."

"Oh. That's…" She seemed to grasp for the right word to use. "That's interesting. I mean, I had heard rumors that there was a Sanzo priest staying the town, but no one had really seen him, I passed them off as just that. Rumors. So, he really is here?" She turned her head, watching him with dark brown eyes.

Hakkai nodded slowly. Goku was distracted by something else; the boy's attention span was very short, and as Eshana's questions were not directed towards him… "Yes," he answered, reaching up and taking his monocle from his eyes, using the edge of his shirt to wipe away dust accumulated from the day. "Though I would…ah, prefer that you do not spread about that he is there. We are only staying here for a little while and would like to remain unnoticed. Get into as little trouble as possible."

To his relief, Eshana nodded. "I understand, Hakkai-san. Just the rumor of a Sanzo priest staying here is creating quite a stir. If everyone knew that the rumors were true then there would most likely be a bit of an…shall we say, uproar? And the gods only know that we need _another_ uproar." The last of her words were filled with sarcasm as she shook her head.

Hakkai looked at her with interest. "What do you mean? Have there been other things before this?" He replaced the monocle over his right eye, glade that it was no longer slightly obscured with dust.

She nodded, watching Goku draw patterns in the dirt with his foot. Hakkai smiled; he was most likely very bored by this. "Yes, there have been. Well, I haven't been here constantly for the last few years, so I haven't seen it _all_ firsthand. But about three years ago was when the forest suddenly became more dangerous. There were strange deaths; people were afraid to go near it. I think that—I wasn't here for this, but Lok told me about it—a priest came through and put up some sort of charm or another, and there were no more of the deaths. At least, no bodies were found after that, but people still continued to disappear."

"A Sanzo?"

She shrugged, though she was still careful not to jostle Vatsa. "It might have been; no one has been able to tell me for sure. But that was only the first thing that happened. The second," and here she sighed and her shoulders slumped slightly, "was a little over a year ago. I'm sure you know what I am talking about." She looked up at him, a question in her eyes. Hakkai nodded.

"You're referring to the youkai and their loss of sanity."

She smiled, though her face was tinged with sadness. "Yes. What else? When they lost their sense of self…I knew several youkai that lived in this village. It was a very sad time. To see people that you have known for years, who are even your friends, go insane and kill…" Her voice trailed off and she looked down at Vatsa, at the red-haired boy who had just shifted in his sleep. "Even Vatsa lost friends at that time. Poor Ginkaku and Kinkaku. We don't know what happened to them."

Hakkai blinked as he heard the two names of the boys. He turned so that he could see Eshana fully. "Did you just say—?"

"Ginkaku and Kinkaku?" Goku had sat up, abandoning the sketches that he was making in the dirt. "Hakkai, weren't those th' names of th' two guys that we met?"

Hakkai nodded slowly. "Yes, Goku. Those were their names."

Eshana's gaze was jumping between the two of them. "Wait. You—you've met them? Where?" The pitch of her voice rose as she spoke; the boys had obviously been important to her.

He swallowed. The two boys… "We met Kinkaku in the forest, several days ago. Miss Eshana…"

"Kinkaku? In the forest? And Ginkaku, where was he? I've never known those two to be separated. Oh, how was he? He—without his parents—they—"

Hakkai closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Miss Eshana, Kinkaku and Ginkaku are…they aren't…they are no longer among living."

Eshana went extremely still, pausing even in her breathing. "Wh-what?" she finally managed, her voice gaining a hoarse edge. "They're dead?" Hakkai noticed that her face had lost quite a bit of its color.

"I'm very sorry." He set a hand on her arm as she began to breathe again.

"How?" she asked, her face wiped of all emotion, as though admitting anything was really wrong would be too much for her.

So he told her, the whole tale of how Kinkaku had been traveling with a monster, how he had used the gourd to steal souls, and how there had been the confrontation in the forest. How his and Goku's souls had been sealed in the world of the gourd and their meeting with the spirit of Ginkaku. And finally how Kinkaku had been killed by the one who he had believed in. He did, however, gloss over the things that she didn't need to know, things that he knew were not to be told.

Eshana was silent through the entire tale, up until Hakkai mentioned Kami-sama.

"Wait, slow down," she said, her eyes wide as she tried to digest what she had just heard. "Kami-sama? A Sanzo priest? Can you explain that to me? I am afraid that I don't quite understand."

Goku had returned to drawing in the dust as Hakkai had told her the tale but now he spoke up. "Him? He was just some freaky guy who though he was a Sanzo."

Hakkai gave a small laugh, though it was at Goku's description of Kami-sama and not at the seriousness of the event. "Well, what Goku just said is fairly accurate. He was, in fact, someone who had studied under a Sanzo. We figured that out. Eventually. But he didn't have the title or a sutra. He was…child-like, to say the least. He believed that everything was—" and here he laughed again, but it was a cold laugh, "—God's personal toy."

Eshana sat completely still, her face frozen. Then she inhaled deeply and Hakkai could see that she was willing herself to remain calm. "Is he still alive?" she asked, her eyes dark, her voice low. He shook his head.

"No. We…I have to say that we killed him. His 'fortress' in the forest is gone, as are all of his enchantments."

"That is very good. If he were still alive…" Her voice trailed off and she swallowed. "He had no right to do that to the twins. No right at all." Then she turned to him and her eyes were still full of contained anger. "What did he look like?"

"Hmm? Well, I hardly thing that it matters now…" Hakkai saw the look on her face, knew that she needed to know. He had already told her so much; a little more couldn't hurt. "He had very light blond hair…and a red discoloration over his right eye."

"Interesting." Eshana seemed to withdraw into her own thoughts for a while and Hakkai made no move to disturb her. Whatever she made of the information wasfor herand for her alone.

He doubted that Sanzo would have wanted him to tell her that much. He wasn't actually entirely sure why he had. He supposed that it was mostly because this woman had known the two boys and that she deserved to know what had happened to them. And telling that story led to the knowledge of the strange man who had lived in that forest.

Goku was sitting on the ground, one hand tracing outlines in the dirt, the other riffling through a bag that sat next to him, apparently searching for something to eat. He gave a little crow of delight as he found whatever he had been looking for. Hakkai watched as he pulled out a package of rice crackers and ripped open the top. Then the boy looked up and opened his mouth.

"Hey! Gojyo! You perverted kappa, we've been waiting for you for th' la—"

"Goku!" hissed Hakkai, clamping a hand over the boy's mouth. "Remember what Miss Eshana asked you to do?"

"Oh, yeah. Be quiet. Sorry, Eshana-san!"

"That's quite all right, Goku-san. He didn't wake, just please don't yell anymore." Eshana stood as Gojyo and Kioko walked towards them, the kappa's arm around the silver-haired woman's waist.

"Stupid monkey. You should keep that mouth of yours shut."

Kioko took one look at the four of them waiting there and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh, Eshana! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to leave you with Vatsa for so long!"

Eshana ruffled the sleeping boy's hair, then handed him over to his mother. "Yes, well, it was fine. It gave me time to speak with Hakkai-san. I trust that the two of you had a good time?"

Kioko smiled up at Gojyo, who grinned at her. "Yeah, we had a good time. But it is getting late…"

"Yes, very late," cut in Goku impatiently. "And all that waiting's made me hungery! Come'n Gojyo, you made us skip dinner!"

"Ah, shut it," was Gojyo's response to this. "So, Kioko, I guess you'll be heading home with your friend, then?"

Kioko glanced over at Eshana, who was now standing there with her empty arms crossed. "Well…I will be heading home, but Eshana isn't staying with me."

"Oh, so you are staying at the inn?" asked Hakkai, speaking softly to the dark-haired woman, who nodded, keeping her eyes trained on Gojyo.

"Yes."

"Well, then," said Gojyo with one of his enticing smiles, "why don't I walk you and the boy home? It ain't good for a pretty girl to be out alone after dark."

"Kioko—"

"Yes, Gojyo-san. I would like that very much," Kioko responded, cutting off Eshana's words. "Eshana, I will see you tomorrow?"

Eshana inclined her head, still eyeing Gojyo suspiciously. "Yes. Until then…Good night, Kioko. Sha Gojyo." She turned to Hakkai. "And thank you for the conversation. Good nig—"

"Miss Eshana, if you like, we can walk with you back to the inn. We are heading the same way, after all." He smiled and after a moment saw Eshana nod.

"Thank you. Here, I can take some of those bags for you, if you want…"

"Why, that is very kind of you."

"Hey, Hakkai? I'm still hungry."

…

Damn headache.

Sanzo threw down the newspaper; he had read through it once already, there was no need to read it again. Nothing would change and there was really nothing in it worth knowing. His head was throbbing like mad, just as the wound in his side was hurting more than ever.

_Damn_, this wasn't a good day.

He took off his glasses, folding them carefully and setting them in their case, leaving that on the table. He crushed his cigarette in the ashtray, then rose from his chair.

Only to feel another bolt of pain shoot through his side. He wavered on his feet, unsteadied by the pounding in his head and abdomen.

He ground his teeth together, hard enough to distract himself from the pain. Then, one hand on the back of the chair to steady himself, he moved slowly towards his bed. He stumbled slightly, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face. He released his hold on the chair, taking a few steps. Then stopped, cussing violently as he felt the wound throb, the skin stretch as it strained against the stitches.

Jeep launched himself from his perch on the windowsill, flapping around his head, making annoying cheeping sounds.

"Stupid animal," he growled. "Why the hell didn't you go with Hakkai?"

The white dragon only cooed, landing on the edge of the bed and watching him with beady red eyes. Stupid animal.

He took another step and a fresh wave of pain caused him to shut his eyes tight, breathing hard. One hand found its way to his side, clutching at the stitched wound.

"Damn it," he whispered through clenched teeth. "Damn it all to hell." He took another step, fell, and just barely hit the bed. He pulled himself up, lying down on the mattress, willing the pain to recede.

At least the others weren't around. He wasn't strong, that he knew, but he hated to act weak around anyone. He pulled a blanket around him; he might as well get some sleep. Maybe the damned headache would be gone in the morning. He highly doubted that his side would be any better, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. He shut his eyes tightly; even the dim light that was filtering into the room through the window hurt them.

The dragon was still on the bed; he felt him move slightly, setting one clawed limb on his leg and making a cheeping sound that had an almost worried tone to it. However, the small sound hurt Sanzo's head even more.

"Fucking animal! Get the hell away from me!"

And, of course, his outburst only made the headache worse.

There was the sound of footsteps from the hall, each step like the tolling of a bell, resounding in his head. He tightened his jaw, clenching his teeth. The sound of voices, laughter, and then the door creaked open. Sanzo felt Jeep leave.

"Oh! What is that?" came a soft female voice, tinged with curiosity. He heard Hakkai's familiar voice answering her.

"This is Jeep. He's been with me for several years now."

The sound of Jeep's cooing and then the woman's voice again. "He's adorable. Is—"

"Sanzo! Sanzo, we've got food! Can—"

Goku's voice was just too much noise for the priest; he twisted around, propping himself up with one arm and glaring at the boy.

"Shut. The hell. _Up!_" he all but yelled. Goku wilted visibly, sitting down on the floor with a dejected look on his face. The voice of the woman faltered and he saw that she stood in the doorway, Hakkai just before her. The black haired man walked into the room, closely followed by the woman.

"Now, Sanzo, we have company. Could you not yell?" Hakkai set down several bags on the table, pushing the ashtray and newspaper to the side as he did so. "Miss Eshana, you can set those down here."

Sanzo glanced at the person Hakkai had directed the last of his words to. A woman around his age, who looked no taller than Goku. Dark haired, but with nothing to set her apart from any other woman he would pass by in the streets. Just another annoyance to add to his already very shitty day. And she was staring at him with an expression as though he was some sort of insect.

"Is he always like this?" he heard her say, followed by a low chuckle from Hakkai.

"Yes. Most of the time, at least."

Sanzo shut his eyes again, turning on the bed so that he faced the wall. "Just keep the noise down, got it?"

"Whatever you say, Sanzo."

"I should probably get going," the woman—Eshana—said, a nervous note lacing her words. "Thank you for walking me back, Hakkai-san."

"Oh, it was nothing, Miss Eshana. Do have a good night. And don't mind Sanzo, he is just in a bad mood."

Were his head not hurting so much, Sanzo probably would have said something to Hakkai at that point. As it was, he simply curled into a tighter ball, wishing he could block out the noise.

"I will. And thank you again. Good night, Hakkai-san, Goku-san."

There was the creaking of the door as it closed.

"Sanzo," said Hakkai, pulling out a chair from the table and sitting down, "you didn't have to be so rude."

"Yeah, well, I didn't think that _you_ would be the one to pick up a whore. I thought _that_ was the damned kappa's job." His voice came out sounding harsher than he intended but he didn't really care. The whole world could just go to hell.

Hakkai was silent for a moment, regarding the priest with emotionless eyes. "Goku?"

"Yeah?" The boy was quieter than normal, Sanzo's first outburst having driven all energy from him.

"There's no time for me to make anything to eat. Why don't you go downstairs and get something to eat?"

Goku perked up instantly. "I can? But…but I don't have any money, Hakkai."

The green-eyed man smiled at him, pulling some from his pocket. "Here you are, Goku."

"Thanks, Hakkai!" The boy hurried out of the room, the money clutched in his hand. The door clattered shut behind him.

With a sigh, Hakkai turned back to the priest. "Now, Sanzo, can you tell me what's going on?"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sanzo was in no mood to be answering questions, but Hakkai wasn't about to give up.

"You aren't usually this volatile," he said, stroking Jeep as the dragon settled on his shoulder. "I can tell when something is wrong. You can't hide it from me, even though you try. Despite the fact that I only have one working eye, I'm not blind."

Sanzo growled in annoyance. "Fine. You want to know what is wrong? I've got a fucking massive headache and my side feels as though someone's holding a knife to it. Happy now?"

Hakkai shooed Jeep away and walked to the bed. "Sanzo, I should have a look at that wound, if it is still hurting."

"It's only been a day, Hakkai. It's not going to heal that fast."

"Sanzo…"

"Go to hell, Hakkai!"

Hakkai set a hand to his head, sighing. "I'd prefer not to, Sanzo. I think one trip into death per year is all I can handle. Now, I want to see to that wound. If it has gotten infected…we could end up staying here a lot longer than you planned on. Besides," he continued, keeping his voice level and devoid of any emotion, "Gojyo and Goku aren't around. And even if they were, it's not like they haven't seen you injured before."

Sanzo was silent for a moment. "Fine," he growled, pulling himself into a sitting position. He winced, then pulled back the side of his shirt, exposing the wound.

Hakkai inhaled sharply as he saw it. "Sanzo, you never noticed this?"

The flesh around the wound was red, inflamed. Infected, and Hakkai could see that it was most definitely not healing correctly.

Sanzo shook his head. "No."

Hakkai held his hand several inches away from Sanzo side, allowing a small amount of his chi to form in his hand. Then he sighed and released the power.

"If you had let me heal you properly a while ago then this would be an easy task. As it is, the stitches need to come out before I can do anything. And even then…" His voice trailed off uncomfortably.

"And even then?"

He raked a hand through his hair. "Even then, I don't know if I can heal infection. I couldn't heal the poison from the scorpion youkai—or any poison, for that matter—and I have a feeling this is a similar case."

Sanzo gritted his teeth together in irritation. "Fine, damn it. Call the doctor back, for all I care. Just keep the kappa and the monkey out of my business."

Hakkai inclined his head. "Of course. Besides, I have a feeling that Gojyo won't be around for a while."

Sanzo leaned back against the wall. "That bastard had better not make any messes. I am _not_ going to clean up after him."

Hakkai just glanced at him, the headed towards the door to find the barkeeper and send for the doctor.

* * *

A/N2: This was an...interesting chapter to write. Actually, after I wrote that Sanzo had a headache, I woke up with one. Pretty weird...Anyway, questions, comments, and constructive critisism are all appreciated. 

Until next week,

Raven


	5. Poison

A/N: So, here's the fifth chapter of this. The plot really starts here, with the events in this being what makes everything else happen. The part at the beginning of this...I would really like your feedback as to how well it is written. I don't write stuff like that as often and I would like to know if you think it is okay or if it is really, really bad.

Also, I worked on different sides of the characters in this. For example, a bit more of an...angry side of Hakkai and a softer side of Gojyo.

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed this story. I really appreciate all of the feedback.

* * *

Round 5: Poison 

"Thank you, Gojyo-san." Kioko dug into her purse, pulling out a battered key. She smiled at the kappa, then unlocked the door to her house.

"Any time, gorgeous," he said with a grin. "You want me to bring your boy inside?"

Kioko nodded. "Sure. Here, come in." She held the door open for him and Gojyo walked inside, holding the sleeping Vatsa in his arms. "Wait—"

"Yeah?"

Kioko chewed on her bottom lip, looking a little uncomfortable. "Could you…could you not smoke in my house? I mean, I don't mind the smell elsewhere, but it'll just…I'd prefer not having smoke in the house," she finished, locking eyes with him as she did.

He paused for a moment, then stepped back outside where he crushed his cigarette under his heel. He would have rather kept smoking, but it wasn't like she was asking him to give up smoking for good. Plus, there was a good chance that if he got into her house that he could also get somewhere else…

"Sure thing, girl."

Kioko smiled at him again. "Thanks. Here, I can take Vatsa now—" She took the boy from Gojyo's arms. "Make yourself comfortable. I'll be back in just a moment." She walked through an open door, which Gojyo figured was the entrance for the boy's room. Then, doing precisely what Kioko said that he could do, he sat down on the couch, stretching his long legs out in front of him.

It was a pretty small house. Not surprising, he thought, as she was a single mother. Probably couldn't afford anything bigger. There was a small living room, which was where he was currently sitting. All it contained was the couch, a wooden chair, and a coffee table covered in a few water stains and scratches. An open doorway lead to what he could see was a kitchen. A bathroom and two bedrooms were the only other rooms in the house.

It wasn't really _that_ small, he thought, leaning backwards and putting his hands behind his head. Hell, it wasn't that much smaller than the house he owned. Or had owned, before this damned journey had begun. That house could have been burned to the ground and he never would have known.

Not like there was anything important in that house.

Kioko came out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. "So, Gojyo-san…did you want to stay for a bit?" She sat down on the chair, absently straightening the newspapers and magazines that lay on the table.

Was that an invitation? "Yeah, I'd like that." Well?

Kioko had gotten up from the chair, clearing some of the clutter in the room. A nervous tendency, he supposed. Though the house was a little messy. Not surprising, when a seven-year-old boy lived there.

"I'm sorry, I really wasn't expecting to have company," she said, picking up the odd pieces of clothing that were lying on the ground and setting them in a wicker basket that sat in the corner.

"Eh, don't worry about it." His eyes followed her as she moved around the room. "If it's a problem, I can always leave." Not that he wanted to leave. Being alone in a room with a woman who was obviously attracted to him normally lead to a certain situation that he was entirely comfortable with. Though it would be nice if he could smoke…

"What? Oh, no. You don't need to leave." She continued to straighten things in the room, then stopped and turned to him. "Would you like anything to drink, while you're here?"

"Sure. Got any beer?"

That elicited a soft laugh from Kioko. "When I've got a kid in the house? Besides, we already got some of that earlier. Is tea good enough for you?"

He shrugged. "Sure." Tea. Sounded like something Hakkai would drink, not him. Ah, who really cared, anyway?

So, no alcohol and no cigarettes. But a good looking girl, which made up for the other two things. Mostly.

"I'll be right back, then," she said, walking into the kitchen. Gojyo watched the swing of her hips as she left, then shook his head and followed her.

The kitchen was pretty small as well, the sink piled with dirty dishes, a thin layer of dirt on the ground. There were a few muddy handprints on the cabinets and floor, small enough to be Vatsa's. Most likely were, thought Gojyo with a suppressed smile. From the state of the house he looked to be a bit of a handful.

"Hey, beautiful. I don't like being ignored." Gojyo shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning on the doorjamb.

Kioko gave a lopsided smile, filling a clean pot with water. She had just set it on the stove when Gojyo came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.

"Any particular reason you asked me to come in?" he mumured, dipping his head so that it was close to her ear. He saw Kioko's cheeks flush as she moved away, turning around so that she faced him.

"Well—I-I just thought that it would be the polite thing to do, Gojyo-san," she answered, one hand twisting in the material of her skirt.

"You know that you're really cute when you're nervous?" He ran one hand down the side of her face, tangling his fingers in her silver hair. He saw her eyes widen slightly and he wondered if she would bolt; she had been incredibly confident earlier, but now that they were alone together she had begun to waver between that confidence and a bout of shyness that intrigued him.

"Ah…Gojyo-san—"

He leaned down—there was a good five-inch difference in their heights—and laid his lips to hers. Softly, slowly. Better not to make her bolt. He felt her stiffen in shock, then relax against him after several moments. It was a very simple kiss, but slowly he deepened it until she pulled back.

"Um…" She bit her bottom lip, looking at the pot on the stove. "I should—"

"Eh, forget about it." He brushed his lips across the corner of her mouth. "Turn the stove off. We can turn up the heat somewhere else."

Kioko laughed at his words. "That's a pretty bad pick-up line, Gojyo-san. Besides," she said as he ran a hand through hair, "the walls are very thin in this house. I'd think it best not to—"

He silenced her with another kiss, drawing her close. She tentatively reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself into the kiss.

Without breaking the kiss Gojyo drew her out of the kitchen and pulled her onto the couch. Her breath was coming faster and Gojyo held her close, his arms wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly.

"Gojyo-san?'

"Yeah?" He ran his hands down her back, making her shiver. "What?"

"We-we really shouldn't—" Her voice broke off as he kissed the side of her neck. Her eyes closed and she set her hands to his shoulders, pushing herself away. "This is just going too fast…"

He tangled one hand in her hair, pulling her into another kiss. "Hey," he whispered against her mouth, "I won't go any further than you want, got it?"

He felt her nod. The corners of his mouth twitched in a smile and then he kissed her again.

…

"Sanzo. Sanzo!"

Hakkai groaned and turned over, pulling the pillow over his head as he did so. He really didn't want to get up yet; the sun hadn't even risen over the horizon and he had been up so late the night before that he wanted to sleep for as long as he could.

"Sanzo!"

Goku's voice was as loud as ever, even with the pillow covering his head. Hakkai sighed, trying to ignore him. He expected to hear a gunshot within moments; Sanzo didn't like being woken, especially not to the boy's yelling.

They had called in a doctor the night before. Well, not the same doctor as before. His assistant. They had been told that there was an emergency somewhere else in the town and he wasn't able to come. The assistant assured them that he had quite a bit of training and would be able to deal with Sanzo's wound easily.

He had worked late, taking out the old stitches and cleaning the wound. Cleaned it and then sewed the priest back up. It had taken a bit of time, though, as he had to reopen the wound to disinfect it.

Hakkai would have closed the wound for Sanzo at that point, except that it was still infected and his chi would not work. Hakkai himself was also still injured and Sanzo had refused to let the green-eyes man risk harming himself by helping him.

"Sanzo, wake up! _Sanzo!_" Goku's voice was growing more urgent by the moment. In Hakkai's mind that was still clouded by sleep, he wondered why Sanzo wasn't answering Goku and why he hadn't already heard a gunshot.

Then he felt someone shaking him and Goku's frantic words. "Hakkai! Hakkai, Sanzo's not waking up! Hakkai, wake up, I think something's wrong! _Hakkai!_"

Hakkai rolled over, moving the pillow so that he could look at the boy. "Goku, it's still early. Perhaps Sanzo just wants to sleep—" Then a thought hit him that made his sit straight up.

Sanzo was the lightest sleeper of the four. With Goku yelling, he should have woken. He'd even woken once when Goku had rolled over in his sleep, when they were out in the woods, sleeping in the jeep.

So he should be awake now. _Especially_ since Goku was yelling.

"Hakkai?" asked the boy as he got up and walked over to where Sanzo was. He was lying there, facing the wall. Motionless.

"Sanzo?" Hakkai sat down on the side of the bed, looking at the priest. His face was stark white; beads of sweat glistening on his skin. His eyes were closed and he didn't move at Hakkai's words. Not that he had expected him to; if he weren't awakened by Goku's shouts then his voice would do nothing.

Goku, his hair mussed and his eyes wide, sat down next to him and shook Sanzo violently.

"Sanzo! Wake up! Hakkai, what's wrong with him? He's not waking up! Hakkai!" Goku's voice was rising shrilly, getting louder and louder.

"Goku, stop that." He grabbed the boy's hands and took them off of Sanzo's shoulders. "Listen, I don't know what's wrong. Just—"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by the sound of pounding on the door and a man's voice.

"Be quiet in there!"

Hakkai closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then walked over to the door and opened it. "Yes?"

A large man was standing there, one hand on the doorframe, glaring at Hakkai. He wore nothing but a pair of shorts. Across the hall was an open door, a woman with heavily painted eyes and lips standing there, wrapped in a sheet. She was smoking, staring at him.

"Can you tell your kid in there to keep it down?" bellowed the man, bringing his eyes level with Hakkai's. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

Hakkai glanced towards the woman, then looked back at the man. "I'm sure. And I am very sorry. I will make sure that you hear nothing else from us."

The man just muttered something under his breath, then turned around and headed back towards his room. "You had better. Or else—"

"Is there a problem here?"

The soft voice made Hakkai turn to his left. Standing there in the dim light from an open door was the woman he had escorted back the night before. He saw other doors opening up and down the hall, angry and confused faces poking out to see what was happening.

"Nothing, Miss Eshana. I am sorry if we disturbed your sleep."

Eshana stared at him, then rubbed a hand across her eyes as she yawned. "Yes, well it would be nice if you could keep it down."

The man who had pounded on their door turned around. "Yeah, Missy? Good luck getting them to shut it, he said with a sneer, then turned and headed back to his room, wrapped one arm around the girl, slamming his door with the other. Hakkai winced as the sound resounded around the hall. Eshana just shook her head.

"Bastard," she muttered. "Louder than you. And I'm not just talking about the yelling and door slamming. Anyway, are you sure that nothing is wrong? My room's right next door, and it sounded like something wasn't right."

Hakkai shook his head. "No, no. Nothing is wrong. Just a little argument, that's all. Thank you for your concern."

She gave him a half smile, then yawned. "You're welcome, Hakkai-san. Now, if you'll excuse me…" She pushed her door back open. "Good…night. I suppose it should be good morning…eh, whatever."

"Good night, Eshana-san."

The clicking of the door told him that she was gone. Hakkai sighed and turned back into his own room. Goku was still sitting beside Sanzo, shaking him once again. "Goku, you are going to have to keep it down, all right?"

The boy looked up at him with large eyes filled with worry. "But he's not waking up! I don't think that he's all right. Can't you do anything, Hakkai?"

Hakkai stared at Goku for a moment. This was so like all those other times that Sanzo had been hurt, only this time Goku hadn't lost control. Yet. "I can try. Here, turn him over and get that shirt out of the way." Whatever was wrong, he was sure that it had something to do with the wound in his side.

Goku hurried to do what Hakkai had said. As he moved Sanzo's body the man twitched ever so slightly. His eyes were moving below the closed lids. Caught in a dream?

With the shirt removed, Hakkai could see that the wound was…was fine. No redness, no bloating, just the stitches puckering the skin. Then what was keeping him in this sleep?

"Goku." Hakkai turned to the boy. "Can you sense anything to be wrong with Sanzo?" Sometimes Goku was able to…to smell things that other people couldn't. Maybe he could tell what was wrong. After all, the wound was fine. Then—

"Yeah," said Goku, sitting on the side of the bed, eyes trained on the priest. "Yeah, something's wrong, Hakkai. I don't know what, though. But…but it's not th' wound. It's…" His voice trailed off and he looked down, hands fiddling with a piece of the bedspread. "I-I don' know. But something's wrong. I know it!"

Hakkai took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This was getting out of hand. What was wrong? His side was healing and he had no other injuries that Hakkai knew of, so what was causing this? Goku said that something was definitely wrong and the boy wouldn't lie. So what was wrong?

Had the assistant done something? Unlikely, yet possible. But likely. And yet—

"Hakkai?"

Goku's voice made Hakkai's eyes snap open and he stared at him. "What is it, Goku?"

"A-are you all right?" he asked, looking more worried than ever. Hakkai frowned.

"What do you mean, Goku? I'm fine."

Goku looked over at Sanzo again, not meeting Hakkai's eyes. "It's just…you looked kinda…weird just a moment ago. I guess. I was just wondering…"

"I'm fine. I was just…thinking." He supposed that thinking, especially thinking in circles as he had been doing, could make him look 'weird,' as Goku had said. He reached for his monocle where it sat on the table, positioning it over his eye. "Goku, do you remember if anything odd happened last night? When the doctor was here?"

Goku screwed up his eyes, thinking hard. "Odd? I dunno, Hakkai. Th' guy came in here an' fixed up Sanzo."

"_Think_, Goku. Please. Did he do anything to Sanzo that might have brought this about?"

Goku rubbed his hands across his eyes. "I don't remember, Hakkai! If I did, I'd tell you! I'd—" He stopped, his arms dropping and his eyes going wide. "Hakkai! I remember!"

"Well?" urged the man, sitting down beside Goku. "What do you remember?"

"The sleeping thingy! He gave Sanzo that thing to drink! Remember?"

Hakkai frowned again. "The sleeping draught? But that was just—" He stopped and thought about it for a moment. It was possible... "You were right there when that happened, Goku. Did anything about that sleeping draught seem wrong?"

"Well, kinda—"

"And you didn't say anything?"

"Hakkai! Don't get angry at me! It wasn't a really big feeling, that it was bad! It was kinda just a-a feeling. Does that make any sense?" Hakkai shook his head but Goku continued anyway. "But-but I didn't think that anything was wrong! An' I was half asleep, Hakkai! An-an—Hakkai, is Sanzo gonna—?"

Hakkai set a hand to the trembling boy's shoulder. "Look, we're going to fix this. If it is poison, then we have to get him help. Fast." If it was poison, then they might already be too late. He could only hope that it had been some sort of drug.

"Yeah!" Goku jumped off the bed. "But what?"

Hakkai got up as well, going to his neatly folded clothes and began to pull them on. "I'm going to go and get a doctor. I don't know much about poisons, but it hasn't killed him yet, but I doubt we have a lot of time left. I want you to stay here with him, just in case anything happens. Stay alert, Goku." He would get the real doctor, not the assistant. Hopefully, it would be in time.

"Gotcha, Hakkai."

Hakkai laced his shoes, then turned and headed to the door. As he was about to open it he paused and turned back. "And don't let _anyone_ in while I'm out."

"Not even Gojyo?"

Hakkai gave a small smile. A _very_ small smile. "Not even Gojyo. Besides, I doubt he will be back for awhile."

"Okay. Just hurry."

Hakkai nodded, then left the room, heading down the hall and down the stairs.

There weren't many people in the smoke filled bar room. Only a few sitting at tables and one leaning on the counter with a cup before them. The barkeeper stood behind the counter, straightening dusty bottles of alcohol. He looked up as Hakkai entered the room.

"Ah. Mr. Hakkai-san. How—"

"I'm sorry to be impolite," said Hakkai, cutting off the man's words, "but I need to know the way to where the doctor lives. Right now."

The man raised his eyebrows. "More problems? Damn, you guys have it hard." He set down one of the bottles, wiping his hands on a clean cloth. "Look, the doctor lives close to the outskirts of town. It's a ways away and pretty hard to find if you don't know what to look for."

Hakkai tapped his fingers on the counter impatiently. "Even so, I need to know how to get there."

The barkeeper shook his head. "I'd tell you, but it would take you some time to get there. And from the tone of your voice, I'd say that you need to get there quickly. I'd take you, but I can't go running around—"

"Then get someone who can take me!" Hakkai took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I am sorry. But you figured it correctly. It is _urgent_ that I get to the doctors. Now, is there anyone who can take me?"

The barkeeper opened his mouth, then closed it again, shaking his head. "I'm sorry. Well, anyone in here could take you, but—" he leaned across the counter, speaking softly so that only Hakkai could hear him, "they ain't the best type of people to be traveling with. I'd suggest—"

"Good morning, Lok-san. Oh, and good morning Hakkai-san. It is good to see you again."

"Ah." The barkeeper glanced over to the stairwell. "Eshana-san. Good morning."

The dark-haired woman sat down at the counter. "Do you have any coffee made? I'm going to need it."

"No sleep?"

She shook her head. "Bit of a disturbance earlier. Yelling and the such. I'm sure that Hakkai-san here could tell you more about it."

Lok filled a cup with coffee and handed it to Eshana. "Here you are." Then he looked over at Hakkai and back to the woman. "Eshana, are you up to trudging around the town tonight?"

"Hmm?" She took a sip of the coffee and swallowed. "Why?"

Lok gestured toward Hakkai. "This man here needs someone to get him to Matou's."

"Oh, so there _was_ trouble." Eshana set down her cup. "Yeah, I suppose I could take him. It is still early and I won't be meeting Kioko and Vatsa until noon…" She glanced at Hakkai. "I'm assuming that you want to leave _now_?"

Hakkai nodded. "Yes, if it isn't any trouble for you."

She shook her head. "No trouble." She stood up, brushing her hands down her skirt out of habit. "Come on. I'll show you how to get there."

"Thank you, Miss Eshana. And thank you also, Mr. Lok-san." Hakkai turned and followed Eshana out the door. He remained alert and ready to fight if he needed to. When one thing went wrong it was inevitable that something else would as well.

…

The sun had begun to shine through the windows when Kioko woke. She lay next to Gojyo on the couch, both still fully clothed. Nothing had happened that night; they had simply spent time holding each other, occasionally talking. Though most of the time had been spent with Gojyo kissing her senseless. He really was a good kisser.

She absently raised her hand to her mouth, tracing her fingers along her lower lip. He had been a _really_ good kisser. He had tasted of smoke and spice, a combination that was most interesting. While she tended not to like the smell or taste of smoke he was…it was fine, really. With him.

She was very attracted to him. Didn't know him that well and knew that she wouldn't have the time to get to know him very well. He would be leaving soon; she knew that and that had been part of the reason why she hadn't let things go to far. It wouldn't be good to take up with a man that she knew nothing about. It also would be far worse if she ended up getting pregnant from the encounter; one child was all she could handle at the moment.

Beside her, Gojyo moved slightly, his crimson eyes opening. "Morning, beautiful."

"Hey," she answered, her voice quiet. "You stayed the whole night?"

"Yeah. I'm not the type to run off just cause I can't get into a girl's bed." He moved his arm from where it lay beneath her head. "Damn, my arms asleep."

Kioko smiled. "Thanks for staying."

"No problem." He laid his mouth to hers, kissing her softly. "Though I had probably be getting back to the inn soon. Or the idiots'll worry." Despite his words, he didn't get up.

"Well?"

"Ouch. You want me gone?" He put a hand to his chest, faking pain. "That hurts."

She laughed. "Well, you probably _should_ get going. What will Vatsa think if he finds you here?"

"That he's getting a new dad?"

Kioko slapped him lightly on the arm. "That's not funny, Gojyo-san. That's _exactly_ what he will think. I don't want to get his hopes up. Besides, I know that you're leaving soon."

"Yeah. I'll be heading back to the inn in a moment."

"Not that! I mean, you're going to be leaving this town."

There was a moment of silence. "Yeah. I'll be leaving. Too soon, if you ask me."

"Me too." She remained on the couch as he stood up. "So, you're going?"

He nodded. "Sun's up. And your son will be up soon. You're right. So…unless you want me to stay?"

She sat up, leaning on the back of the couch and watching him. "Well, I do want you to stay. But…I'll see you again, won't I?"

"Sure." He leaned forward, kissing her on the cheek and then on the lips. "I'll see you around, Kioko."

Then he turned and left, closing the door softly behind him.

* * *

A/N2: So, I want your opinions on the two parts with Kioko and Gojyo. Did that stuff come around to fast? Did it make you want to stop reading the story? If you don't like romance stories, don't worry. There isn't going to be a lot of it in this (from what I have currently planned). I'm actually planning to make this story pretty long and having several 'arcs.' This is the first one; I have two more currently thought out, but I don't know how long any of them are going to be. 

Also, things are still going to mostly focus on the Saiyuki boys. But Kioko, Vatsa, and Eshana are all going to play roles in this arc (to a certain extent), and Lok-san's going to make a few more appearences. So, I hope you are enjoying this. If you have any questions, comments, or found any errors in this post (or have ideas and/or guesses as to what is going to happen next) just review and tell me there.

Thanks to everyone who's reading this,

Raven

P.S. The title is going to change to 'Changing Fate' very soon, and that will be the last time that it changes. I really don't like the current title, so tell me what you think of this new one. If you hate it, please suggest a new one. Thanks.


	6. Downhill

A/N: All right. First, I'd like to apologize for the two weeks or so that it took for me to get this chapter up. I've had a lot of things to do lately, and so this kind of got pushed back on my to-do list...

And now, on to the story...

* * *

Round 6: Downhill 

"Look, I don't mean to be rude, but isn't there a faster way to get there? And, if you don't mind me asking, why does the doctor live on the farthest reach of the town?" They were walking, though at a very fast pace. Eshana was leading with Hakkai following close behind.

She paused, looking back at him. "I'm sorry if this is too slow for you, but I'm taking you the quickest way that avoids the worst of the neighborhoods. Not to say that this is a particularly safe place itself…The sun's barely up; I'm not going to risk going through any of the others."

They passed a rundown house, the door torn off its hinges. They had left the main part of the town minutes ago and were getting fairly close to where the doctor lived. Hakkai could see a path running away from them, weeds springing up beneath their feet as though people didn't pass this way very often. "And my other question?"

Eshana shrugged, looking around to make sure that no one was around as they continued forward. "I've asked him before. Didn't give me a straight answer. I know, I know. It doesn't make any sense. He really should be living farther in, where he could get to patients easily. Careful." She held out her hand, stopping Hakkai before he could step on a rusted piece of metal. "I think it has something to do with the fact that he prefers to help those who live out here. Those who can't afford anything better than those rundown shacks. And that he gets many of the plants that he uses out in the forest."

Hakkai nodded, jumping the metal and hurrying after her. The sun was already rising, though it was only glinting over the horizon at the moment.

_If that was poison,_ he thought, increasing his pace so that he walked level with the woman,_ then Sanzo drank it around midnight. That makes it about five, six hours that it has been in his system. If it had been meant to kill, then he would be dead already. So maybe that man didn't mean to kill him? But then…_

He saw the outline of the house against the trees. A small house, in better condition than the others that dotted the outskirts of the town. There were no lights on. It looked as though he would be waking up yet another person today.

Then he felt something. Just a small feeling that was there for one moment, gone the next. But he had experienced that feeling before. Far too many times before.

Youkai.

He stopped still in his tracks, turning his head, looking into the forest. There? No, he didn't sense anything from that direction. In fact, the feeling that a youkai was near had disappeared completely. So…

"Hakkai-san? Is something wrong?"

Hakkai glanced over at Eshana. It was gone, but it had been there. He made sure that he could call upon his chi at a moment's notice. "No. We're almost there, aren't we?"

She nodded, pointing towards the house. "That's Matou's house over there. It doesn't look like he's up yet…"

Hakkai began to move again, walking as fast as possible without breaking into a run. "Will he mind us waking him?"

"I doubt it. He might be a little out of it, but he shouldn't mind—" She hurried to catch up to him. "I'm assuming that something really was wrong this morning."

No use lying. When someone is practically running to get a doctor at the crack of dawn… "Yes."

"And I'm also assuming that _you_ are fine?"

Only a little farther till they reached the house. "Correct."

"I heard the boy yelling, so I can only guess that it is the priest that's in trouble."

He didn't answer. He had sensed the aura of a youkai again, though only for a second. This was not good. He had better hurry and get the doctor; if the youkai—

"What is it?" asked Eshana, stopping herself before she ran into Hakkai. He didn't answer her this time either, pointing towards the house. "Wh-oh, no."

The door had been pulled out of the wall and was lying on the ground some ten feet from the house. All the windows that could be seen were smashed; a few shards still clinging to the frames, making them look like great toothy mouths. Hakkai tensed, taking a few steps forward. Eshana grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him.

"You're going in? Are you insane?"

Hakkai shook himself out of her grip. "Miss Eshana, if this doctor is still in there then I need to find him. I'm not asking you to come. In fact, it would be best if you turn back now."

She shook her head. "No. I'm coming in as well. Besides, you'll need someone to watch your back. Right?" Despite her words, there was a quaver in her voice that betrayed her nervousness and fear.

Hakkai looked at her for a moment, his usual smile absent from his face. Then he turned and climbed the steps, passed through the threshold, and entered the house.

The only light in the house came from the sun, which had risen over the horizon and was now burning the sky with reds as it moved higher into the sky. Enough light to see where he was going.

The glass from the windows was shattered on the floor, the sun glinting off it and making it seem as though diamonds were scattered here and there. Several shelves had been cast down from where they had stood, throwing their contents around the room. Books, papers, small figures, and glass bottles were all strewn on the ground. And among them all, smeared on so many of the surfaces, was dark red stains. Blood.

"Eshana-san," he said quietly, not turning to look at her, his eyes scanning the room for any movement, "you should turn back. I do not want you to be hurt."

He heard her move, saw her walk to his side. Her shoulders were tensed, her head bowed ever so slightly, her eyes narrowed. "Someone was here. They may still be here, or they may not. There's been a lot of odd stuff happening here lately, from what I've heard. I know that you can defend yourself, Hakkai-san. Otherwise…otherwise you never would have made it out of the forest. But right now, there's someone who broke into this house and I haven't got a clue who it is. I'm not walking back alone. That would be just plain idiotic. I also know that you won't leave here without something to help the Sanzo priest. So I'll stay, even if it is for selfish reasons."

Hakkai inclined his head. "I suppose that is settled. But stay close, and if you see any movement…tell me. Keep your eyes open." He moved forward, taking small, cautious steps. Turned the corner into the kitchen and—

Matou's body lay on the floor, a blanket of blood spreading out from beneath his torso. His skin was slashed in many places, his limbs pulled off and thrown several feet away from him. His head…it looked as though someone had bashed it against the floor, again and again and again until the bone shattered and crumpled inward.

Hakkai swallowed, looking back at Eshana to see how she would react to the sight. Her face was white, her eyes wide, yet she wasn't shaking and didn't look as though she were about to run from the room or vomit.

"I'm fine," she said when she saw him watching her, giving him a weak smile. "But I suppose this screws your plans?"

"Indeed." And it did. Hakkai knew very little about poisons. He healed with his chi and had only started to do _that_ recently. He knew which plants to avoid eating, he knew what to do to treat minor ailments such as cuts and scratches, as well as rashes from plants, but when he didn't know what the poison was… "Miss Eshana? May I ask you a question?"

"Yeah. Sure. What?"

"Do you know anything about poisons?"

She frowned, biting her lip as she averted her eyes from the body on the ground. "A little. What poison?"

Hakkai scanned the kitchen, seeing several shelves with glass doors. "That's the problem. I have no idea."

Eshana's frown deepened. "That's not good. If you knew…there's different methods. Charcoal, diluting it, getting it out of the system. Using the wrong method could be fatal. Do you at least know what form the poison was in?"

"Mixed with a liquid. Does that help?"

She nodded, though her forehead was still creased. "A bit. Banxia, Lilu, or Changshan would be helpful. They're all used for inducing vomiting. And milk for diluting the poison, charcoal…"

"Milk and charcoal we can get elsewhere. But which one should be used?"

Eshana had begun to chew on her bottom lip again. "I-I'm not sure. I'd have to know what was used, have to see him first."

Hakkai walked over to the cabinets and opened them. "Banxia, did you say?"

She nodded. "And Lilu, and Changshan. Why, did you find something?"

"No. Could you start looking?"

"Of course." She had stepped forward, lifting her skirts so they wouldn't drag in the blood. She was halfway across the kitchen when she paused, her face turned toward the window. "Hakkai-san…" she whispered and he turned his head. Her face was white again. "I just…I just heard something out there—"

Hakkai felt it again, much stronger. "Get close to me, Eshana. There are youkai out there."

"Wh—?"

"Just look for the herbs! I'll take care of them."

Eshana gave a short nod, taking several quick steps to where he stood, reaching up and pulling bottles from the cabinet. "All right. Just…just…"

"Just get what you need, Eshana-san," said Hakkai, moving a few feet away from her, arms brought in front of himself. His eyes darted to the window, seeing a small movement in the trees. He heard the clinking of glass and then—

There was the sound of wood splintering as a wall was smashed inward. Youkai stood in the opening.

"There y'are. You're one o' priest Sanzo's holy team, ain't ya?"

Hakkai's eyes narrowed and he didn't answer. Just called upon his chi and let the power form in his hands.

This was not good.

"Are you sure you can—"

"Just get the herbs." The youkai started forward and Hakkai flung a sphere of chi at him, throwing him backward. "I've got them."

…

Gojyo walked down the deserted road. No one was out yet, as it was still incredibly early in the morning.

He smiled to himself. Damn, it had been a good night! Well, despite the fact that they hadn't really done anything, but there were still a few days before he had to leave. He'd probably be able to get into her be before that time was up.

He jammed his hands into his pockets, completely relaxed. It was about time that they got a break. Not that this was a break, exactly. It was a just a…a detour. And he was pretty happy about that. No youkai trying to kill them, a cute girl, and the chance to get away from that damn priest. It was a pretty good 'break.' At least, in his opinion. And he wasn't going to ask anyone else, so it didn't matter if anyone else didn't like it. The only thing that he had disliked so far was the shopping earlier that day, and that had turned out all right.

He'd already gotten his new clothes, his old ones having been so torn up and blood-stained that there really had been no way to salvage them. The others' clothing were on pretty bad shape as well, though Goku's had been covered mostly in blood and he had managed to keep his shirt. The monkey had bought some new pants, though Gojyo hadn't paid much attention to what was going on. The other two—Hakkai and the damn priest—had gone to a tailor to get their stuff fixed. He, on the other hand, was a simple person to buy clothes for. He'd decided to get stuff that was completely different from what he'd had before; leather jacket, black pants, and boots. He was pretty happy about all of them.

Plus, they hadn't taken any time at all to pick out. Sanzo was the one holding up the group now; he couldn't blame it on Gojyo.

The sun was beginning to rise above the horizon, the people of the town beginning to wake. Some were already outside, hanging clean clothes on a line to dry, setting up booths with various goods, just watching the sun rise. Most people ignored him as he walked down the street, though a few did nod toward him in a silent greeting. As he was in a good mood, he responded with a wave of his hand or a nod of his own.

He stopped at one of the booths that was already open, buying a meat bun for breakfast. He gave a small laugh as he bit into it. No stupid monkey around to try and steal it, or whine about wanting food.

All in all, it was starting off to be a damn good day.

Of course, his mood was spoiled as he heard a voice behind him.

"All alone, are you?"

He turned. "What do you want?"

It was a group of people, mostly men. Though there were one or two with longer hair that _could_ have been women. But the thing he noticed about them was—

"Ah, crap. You fucking youkai had to screw up my day, didn't you?"

The one who had spoken pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket and flipped it open. "Heh. Well, ain't it are lucky day? Just one of you, out here all my yourself."

Gojyo rolled his eyes, letting his shakujou materialize in his hand. "Great. Go ahead, try and kill me. None of you idiots have killed me yet. Do you really think you can now?"

He did notice, however, that there appeared to be more of them than he had originally seen. Most of them had weapons of some sort; blades, pipes, that sort.

"An' do we have to fight in the damn street? Seems like you guys haven't thought this out much."

"What's to think out?" said one of the youkai, a shorter, black haired man. "We got assassins going after your friends. We just gotta take care of you."

"Aw, isn't that sweet? You want to take care of me. Sorry, man. I ain't into guys." He set his shakujou across his shoulders, ready to use it at a moment, though to the observer he looked relaxed and unconcerned about anything. "So, you going to fight? I haven't got all day."

When the first of the youkai jumped forward, grinning in their normal, self-confident way, he move only his arm, swinging his weapon, letting the chain uncoil and the crescent blade spin out and sever the limbs of the creatures. He heard a few screams and gasps from the few villagers that were out. A number of slammed doors as well. Pretty smart of them, to go inside. He kicked at a youkai that got too close to him, his boot catching him under the chin and pushing his head back so hard that Gojyo heard his neck snap. One down. A shit-load left to go.

"You just had to go and spoil my day, didn't you?" Not that it really mattered to him that they were trying to kill him; he was faster and had more control of his weapon than they did. He was probably smarter than all of them put together as well.

The chain of his shakujou hissed as he recoiled it, slashing with the back end of the weapon and slicing a great gash in the stomach of a youkai. He saw only for a second the look of shock on the man's face, the guts as they bulged from his stomach, and then Gojyo turned and let the chain out again. They just kept coming.

He wondered if what the youkai had said was true. That they had sent assassins after the others. Eh, they could take care of themselves. After all, they were holed up in that inn. There were three of them in there, which was much better odds than one on—screw it, he wasn't going to count them all. But they had better odds of winning than he did, and here he was kicking these youkai's collective asses.

He felt something slice down on his foot and looked down to see that one of the youkai had decided that cutting up his boot would be fun. Damn it, those boots were brand new! He slammed the staff down, decapitating the creature. The guy had cut deep enough to draw blood and Gojyo could feel the liquid soaking into his sock.

Wonderful. Not to mention that the movement had probably torn the stitches in his chest and reopened some of his other wounds.

Okay, so maybe his odds weren't so good after all. That didn't mean he was going to give up, though.

Ah, crap. There were more of them.

…

Goku was sat on one of the chairs backwards, one leg on either side. He had his arms crossed on the back on it, resting his head on them. Watching Sanzo. Watching Sanzo breath very shallowly.

He glanced back at the door. Nothing. It didn't open. There was no sound of footsteps. No indication that Hakkai was coming back with the doctor.

"Come 'n, Hakkai," he whispered, letting one arm drop down, swinging limply. "You gotta get back."

It was…boring. To sit there, all alone, watching the body of a person who might not wake. Boring, and yet frightening. Because he _didn't_ know if Sanzo would ever wake up again.

Poison. Hakkai had guessed that it was poison. Goku wasn't sure how Sanzo would have ended up poisoned, even though Hakkai had said the poison was most likely hidden in the sleeping draught. Sanzo wasn't the sort of person to let down his guard. It just confused Goku. This was something that shouldn't have happened, and yet it had.

Sitting there, watching Sanzo, Goku began to think about what could have really happened. Maybe, hopefully, it was just that the sleeping thing had knocked him out. That there hadn't been any poison, and it had just been really, really strong stuff. That would be the best possible thing that could have happened. Goku hoped that was what had happened. He really did.

But Hakkai was rarely wrong…Goku dropped his head down so that his forehead rested on the back of the chair. He stared down at the floor. Maybe, just maybe if he looked away for a little while, then everything would be magically better.

"One," he started, his eyes glued on a crack in the floor. "Two. Three."

Then he looked up.

Sanzo still lay there, unmoving. Goku's shoulders slumped. Well, it had been a stupid idea. If Sanzo had known that he had thought of something like that, he would have yelled at him. Probably.

"Wake up, Sanzo," Goku said again, more to just say something and break the silence in the room than anything. It was far too quiet for him, with everyone else gone. And when things were silent, Goku would feel scared. Things were silent in…in the cave where he had been. No voices or anything. Despite the fact that Sanzo was there, right in front of him, Goku felt alone.

There was a small movement from the priest's direction. Goku sat up, eyes wide, hoping that he had woken. He hadn't, but his hand had moved. Just a little bit, just about a centimeter, but it had moved.

"Sanzo! Sanzo, wake up!" and then, just for good measure, "I'm hungry!"

He wasn't really, but that tended to get the priest's attention. There was another small movement of the man's hand, but nothing else.

He heard heavy footsteps in the hall and he turned around, hoping that it was Hakkai. He heard the footsteps come nearer, then fade away as they passed the door. No Hakkai. But would the doctor even be able to do anything?

There was the sound of movement from behind him, causing him to jerk around so quickly that he nearly upset the chair. Sanzo--?

Nothing. But he thought that he saw the tree outside the window move slightly. The branch, the one that almost touched the glass; he thought that he saw it move. Was _sure_ that he saw it move. But it was probably just a bird. Or a squirrel.

Then, almost without warning, the glass shattered. Fell into the room in a spray of shards. They fell onto the floor, onto the beds, onto Sanzo. Goku saw a bead of blood run down the priest's face.

His nyoi-bo was in his hand in an instant. Glass didn't just shatter like that, not without good reason. He knew that. And in the moment that had happened, he had felt something.

Youkai. Lots and lots of youkai.

There was another flash of movement outside of the window and Goku jumped forward, grabbing Sanzo's arm and dragging him back.

"Well, well, well. There are only two of you. How delightfully easy for us."

There was a youkai sitting on the windowsill, his feet hanging before him, his entire posture displaying confidence. Like he was entirely sure of what he was doing. He had short brown hair, slicked back in such a way that his pointed ears seemed even more pronounced than normal. He held a knife in his hand, holding it idly in one hand.

"A half dead priest and a kid," the youkai continued, swinging one leg. "Just two. Hm. And here I was thinking that I would have some trouble with this." He jumped from the window, landing nimbly on his feet. Goku gripped his nyoi-bo, moving so that he stood in front of Sanzo's body where he now lay, sprawled on the ground.

"Yeah? Well, there's only one of you."

The youkai smiled, though only with half of his mouth, giving him a particularly twisted look. "Only one of me? You are right about that. There is only one of _me_. But look, kid. There's a whole lot more _with_ me."

Goku glanced past the youkai for only a moment, out the window and into the trees. Youkai. Many, many youkai. Even as he watched, two more came through the window. His fingers tightened on his weapon and he said the first thing that came to his mind, not caring if it made him sound young or childish.

"What do you want?"

The twisted smile remained on the youkai's face, though he didn't move from where he stood. "Why, the priest and his sutra, of course. What else would we want?"

"You'll have t' get through me first!"

The youkai gave a short laugh, then flung the knife. It hissed past Goku's head, only missing him do to the fact that he had ducked. It hit the opposite wall, burying itself in deeply into the wood.

"You think I don't know that? Come on, we expected a fight. Don't disappoint us." He motioned for the other youkai to move.

Goku swallowed. He'd fought this number before, but only when his friends had been with him. And not when he'd had to protect someone—

They came at him quickly, and all thought fled from his head as he slammed the end of his staff into the first ones stomach.

* * *

A/N2: And now, for a special little thing that should add to the reading experience! Okay, maybe not, but it is something that I feel I should put in. 

I named three herbs in this chapter: Banxia, Lilu, and Changshan. First, I would recomment NOT to use any of these herbs. All three are toxic. However, I choose this herbs because of their properties, and what I know about poisons (limited, but I asked around. I like making my stories as realistic as possible, and I am kind of against making up random herbs and plants to fit the story). Now, to tell you a little about these herbs...

Banxia is the chinese name for middle-summer pinelia. It is used to induce vomiting, as well as to supress coughing, among other things. Lilu is black false hellebore, which also induces vomiting, and can help with several things, including epilepsy. Changshan...well, it translates (I pretty sure) to 'mount eternity'. Helps with several things, including malaria. It also induces vomiting.

According to my sources, one of the possible things that can help with poisons is to induce vomiting (thus, these herbs). However, it all depends on the poison. I named some other things in the chapter. But I am not a doctor, nor am I some sort of herb specialist. DO NOT use these herbs on your own.My information on them is taken from a book on Chinese natural cures, but there is a lot more to them than I have said.

Anyway, there is the information and the warning. I hope you found it interesting (I also hope that you don't try them on your own. I don't think any of you would, but you never know...).

Thanks for reading,

Raven


	7. Hope and Trust

A/N: I really can't believe that it has been two weeks since I have last updated this. Real life just got in the way, and I haven't had time to write. But it is out now. I will warn you, however, that this is the Blood and Gore sort of chapter. Quite a bit of fighting in it (though Saiyuki _is_ an action manga...).

And also thanks to all of the readers. Hope you are all liking the story. If you catch an error, or something is _really_ bugging you, please tell me, and I will take you opinion into consideration.

* * *

Round 7: Hope and Trust 

Trust. That was what she had to have. She had to ignore the yells and screams of the youkai behind her, the sound of cracking timber and of bodies being thrown against walls. She had to ignore all of this as best she could, putting her life in the hands of a man she had just met, so that she could find an herb to save a man she had only seen once.

She really was stupid.

There was little that she could do about it now that she was in this position. She'd had an opportunity to turn back and she hadn't taken it. Albeit she hadn't known that they were going to be attacked at the time, but still, she had chosen not to help. To turn tail and run now would be cowardly, not to mention would probably end up with her being dead, as Hakkai was the only thing keeping her alive at them moment.

Her eyes kept darting back to him as she riffled through the contents of the cabinets. She wasn't entirely sure what he was using to fight the youkai; some sort of energy, she supposed. Despite the fact that there were far more youkai, Hakkai had the advantage of using a weapon—she supposed that it could be called a weapon, at least—that had a far greater range than knifes or clubs or any of the other weapons that they were using.

Or not. She jumped to the side with a stifled shriek as a knife came flying through the air, hitting the glass door of the cabinet that she was currently going through and causing it to shatter. Shards rained down upon the counter, and it was only her quick movement that kept several of them from embedding in her shoe.

This was not good. Not good at all. The knife had also disrupted the bottles and vials inside the cabinet; several of them now lay broken, their contents mixing. Eshana's breath caught and she bit her bottom lip. _Please, please don't let any of them be dangerous when combined. _She knew what could happen if they were—

There were a few bottles in the far back, behind those that were broken. She swallowed, hard, and reached back, trying to avoid touching any of the substances with her hand. She pulled out three vials and began to hurriedly look at the labels.

There! There it was, and in liquid form, which was exactly what she needed. Lilu, which should work. She hoped. She really did. She set the other two bottles on the counter, tucking the one that contained what she wanted into her belt.

"I have it!" she called out, turning fully around for the first time. "Hakkai-san, I have it!" She saw him nod, though that was the only thing that indicated that he heard her. She saw one of his hands move, saw one of the youkai thrown backward into the wall, his neck snapping from the impact. Eshana glanced at Hakkai's face, and what she saw made her stomach flip. He looked entirely too…too calm. As though he had done this a thousand times before and killing no longer had an impact on him.

She didn't have long to ponder this, as she soon found herself otherwise occupied. Turned out that there was more then one entrance to the kitchen, and Hakkai was concentrating on the one they had come in through.

Eshana barely had time to move when one came through the backdoor. At taller, burlier one, that saw her as an easy target. She found herself backed up against the counter, trapped in a corner. Her eyes went wide as she pulled open drawers, hoping to find something that she could use to defend herself. Knives. There had to be knives somewhere—

She jerked a drawer open, so quickly that she nearly pulled it out entirely. The contents rattle, almost jumping out of the container, but she had found what she was looking for. Her hand closed on the handle of a knife just as she felt the youkai's hand close around her throat. She drew in a breath, only to have it cut off by the tightening hand.

"Such a pretty little thing," she heard the youkai say, laughter lacing his voice. His breath was rancid, his face inches from hers. "I don't think I'll kill you yet."

It was almost a reflex, what she did next. The hand with the knife moved forward and upward, burying itself in the youkai's chest. There was a spurt of blood as she drove the knife through his ribcage, covering her white dress and staining it crimson. The youkai gave a gasp, blood bubbling in his throat, spilling out of his mouth as he tried—and failed—to continue breathing. She had hit his lung, puncturing it, and now it had filled with blood.

He wasn't dead yet, though, and he tightened his grip on her throat. Eshana's vision began to blur, and she struggled to breathe. Her own hand shook as she withdrew the knife from his body, then stabbing for the center of his chest. She only hoped that she had hit his heart.

It was likely that she had, as his eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped forward, all of his weight on her. His hand fell from her throat, allowing her to draw in a small breath. But his body carried her to the ground, driving all the air from her lungs. She was not strong enough to lift him from her.

For several seconds she thought that she would suffocate. She could only draw in small breaths, not enough for her to survive for long. The blurring before her eyes became worse and her sight greyed over. Then she felt the youkai's corpse being pulled from her and fresh air hit her face. She breathed in slowing, filling her lungs with the life giving substance.

"We need to get out of here." Hakkai's voice created a focus point for her. She concentrated on his voice, allowing the greyness to vanish from her sight. Eshana blinked, realizing that there weren't any youkai left alive in the room. There were corpses strewn around, blood smearing the walls and floor. She noted that Hakkai had blood smudged on his face, as well as a few stains on the sleeves of his shirt, but he didn't appear to be injured.

She pulled herself to her feet, using the counter to keep her balance. She looked down at the corpse of the youkai, then reached for the knife, withdrawing it from his body. It could be useful, in case anything else happened. She inhaled deeply, calming her fast-beating heart. Hopefully, nothing else would. Hopefully, she could get out of this house, help Hakkai-san's friend, and then just…rest. And get rid of the blood that was now covering her.

Hakkai touched her arm, half to reassure her, and half to get her to move. "You all right, Miss Eshana?" She nodded, stepping over the body. "And you have what you were looking for?"

She nodded again. "Yes, I do. I only hope that it will work. I-I cannot guarantee that it will save your friend, Hakkai-san. But…the fast that we get this to him—if it does work—the better." Luckily, her fall had not shattered the glass vial. She took it out of her belt, wrapping her hand around it. It would be safer that way. At least, she thought so.

Hakkai gave a curt nod of his head. "The coast is clear, for now. Come on." She noticed that he had not relaxed his guard. He was still ready—still expecting—to be attacked. Her right hand tightened around the handle of the knife. She would try to be ready, next time. She was no warrior, and a knife that had been meant for cutting meat was not the ideal weapon for killing youkai and other creatures, but she would try to defend herself.

…

"Fucking youkai. Just had to go and ruin my day." Gojyo jerked the shaft of his shakujou so that the chain and crescent blade were brought it. Blood dripped from that blade, and Gojyo idly ran his fingers over the metal. He stared at his hand for a moment, then shook his head. "And it wasn't even a good fight. Shit, you just get worse every time."

He kicked one of the heads that lay on the ground. Stupid youkai. It really hadn't been much of a fight. Not technique, and most of them probably had no motive of any sort. Well, maybe the glory of having killed him would have been their reward. But Gojyo knew that having no technique and no motive made for pretty lousy fights.

"Waste of my time," he repeated under his breath, allowing his weapon to disappear. "Though I _do_ thank you for giving me extra time away from a certain priest."

Gojyo had only acquired one real injury—aside from a few small cuts and places where he was sure he would have a bruise within the day—and that was his foot. He hadn't let his guard down again after that. It wasn't anything life threatening, but his boot was filled with blood, though he thought that it had stopped bleeding. As he began to walk, he found that he was limping, though only slightly.

He had thought that they had learned that sending mindless creatures after them was completely pointless. It didn't matter how many attacked; they always lost. Okay, sure, there had been a few that had been able to actually fight. Kami-sama, for example. Now _that_ had been a bit of a challenge. These others…it was pathetic, really.

He began to head back to the inn. Not that he _wanted_ to go. The stupid priest would probably have something to say about him being out all night. And then he would make some comment back, and then the monkey would complain about being hungry. Hakkai would just laugh quietly behind his hand. Nothing to hurry back to.

No one was out, everyone having been scared back inside by the youkai. So he just walked down the street, leaving splashes of blood behind him. Maybe his foot _was_ in bad shape; he'd have to check when he got back to the inn.

There was a flash of movement to his right and he turned his head, half expecting to see more youkai. Instead, he saw one familiar figure, and one not-so familiar person that he was _sure_ he had seen before.

"Hakkai, _you_ picked up a girl for the night?"

All right, it probably would have been smart to have actually looked at them, rather than just having glanced at them. A second look showed him that Hakkai, as always, was looking mildly amused, though he did seem a bit…annoyed? He guessed that was what he saw. And the girl was glaring at him. Then he noticed that they were both covered in a fair amount of blood.

"Youkai?" he asked, and saw Hakkai nod.

"Yes," said the dark haired man, continuing to walk. Gojyo fell into step beside him.

"Yeah, me too." He glanced over at the girl. "You pick up a girl?" He saw her jaw clench and decided to drop the subject.

"Ah, no. Gojyo, Miss Eshana, you two have already met." Hakkai glanced over at the girl and she nodded.

"Yes, we have."

Gojyo noticed that the two were walking very quickly. He blinked. He was sure that he was missing something. He was sure of it. "Wait…so you two were attacked by youkai?"

"Gojyo, could you _please_ listen the _first_ time a question of yours is answered?" Hakkai turned so that he was looking at Eshana. "How far till we reach the inn?"

"Not far," she answered, clutching something before her in her hand. Was that a knife? Gojyo frowned. Well, he supposed that if they were in a fight, she would probably have found something to defend herself with. "Just several more blocks. It shouldn't be long now."

Gojyo was absolutely certain that he had missed something. Something big. "Hey, Hakkai? What happened when I was gone?"

He was also sure that Hakkai was amused. His mouth was twitching in the semblance of a smile, though when he answered there was nothing at all funny about the situation.

"Sanzo's been poisoned." Gojyo nearly stopped dead in his tracks.

"Again?" Hakkai nodded and Gojyo let his head roll back, staring at the sky as he continued to walk. "Crap, that's what—the fifth time now? And what's this girl got to do with all of this?"

"Don't exaggerate, Gojyo," chided Hakkai, who had once more quickened his pace. "Miss Eshana is the one who showed me where the doctor was located. However there were—complications, I suppose you could say. As it is, she has kindly offered her assistance in helping us."

Gojyo blinked. "Yeah. That…answers everything. All right then, so what's with all of the youkai? I mean, you and I both getting attacked? They normally aren't that coordinated."

Hakkai shot him a look that appeared to mean something along the lines of: _Shut it, Gojyo. You're telling far too much about us to the girl._ Though if Hakkai had actually been speaking, he would have said it far more politely, and used Eshana's name instead of 'the girl.'

"All right, all right. I got it. So, we just heading off to go and save the poor priest in distress?"

He heard Hakkai sigh. "Now is not quite the time for joking, Gojyo."

"Sorry," he said, a bit sheepishly. "I guess things are a pretty serious right now."

From the nodding of the other two, he was sure he was right about _that_.

Things seemed to move rapidly from that point on. They hurried down the street, rounded the corner, and came to the inn. From the moment they saw it, it became apparent that something was wrong.

"Shit." Gojyo stopped again. "Hakkai, do you see that?" Many of the people who had been staying at the inn were outside, some dressed and other wrapped in blankets and robes. He could see glass, as well as broken pieces of wood. From what he would tell, one wall had been smashed. He could only guess what had done it. And from the looks of it, their room had been the one attacked, though he couldn't quite be sure.

The man nodded. "Indeed, I do. Miss Eshana, this may be more complicated than I previously thought. You do not need to help; I believe that I can take this from here."

Eshana shook her head. "No; you are going to—"

"Don't be a hero, girl," said Gojyo, holding out his hand and allowing his shakujou to reappear in it. "This isn't something for you to be involved it."

She held out her own hand, dangling some sort of bottle filled with a dark liquid. "Look, your friend is going to need help. This might be able to help him, but I'm going to have to see him before I can do anything. I'm already involved in this; I might as well see it out to the end."

"We don't have time to argue," called Hakkai. He had already started forward. "Depending on what we find in there, we may need one more person. But Miss Eshana," and here he turned around, and the look in his eyes was deadly, and the look was directed at the woman, "you have already expressed your concerns about this not working. And I know that herb to be poisonous when not used correctly. If it kills him—"

Eshana closed her eyes and took a deep breath, closing her hand around the bottle. "I understand." Her words cut off Hakkai, but Gojyo had no doubt about what the rest of that sentence would have been. It appeared that Eshana knew as well.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Gojyo hefted his weapon over his shoulder. "Come on, there's probably some youkai left. Can't let the other two have all the fun."

"I highly doubt they are having fun, Gojyo."

Gojyo just rolled his eyes, heading past the throng of people into the inn. Eshana followed him, and Hakkai brought up the rear.

Through the barroom, up the stairs. There were several bodies, bloodstains and gore smeared around. Youkai, human. It looked like some of the customers had gotten in the way. As they reached the floor where their room was, they found doors open, several torn off their hinges. More bodies, looking like they had been thrown bodily into the walls. One was slumped to the side, the body of a woman that would have been quite pretty if her neck hadn't been turned at an odd angle, and her face hadn't been most skillfully shredded.

"All right, Hakkai. What's the plan?"

Hakkai pushed past him, towards the room. "We distract them, make sure they can't get to Sanzo. Eshana-san, you are to use that medicine of yours." Gojyo saw Eshana nod, and the three of them steps through the door and into the room.

"Well, doesn't look like Goku's been bored," was Gojyo's first words, as he saw the mess. It took him a moment to spot Sanzo, the priest being half under the small table that they had brought into the room the night before—or had it been when they first got there? He couldn't quite remember. Either way, Sanzo seemed to be asleep, though Gojyo couldn't see him breathing. Crap. That was bad.

" 'bout time you guys got here!" Goku's face was streaked with blood, his nyoi-bo covered in it. His slight distraction had given one of the youkai enough time to creep up behind it. Goku whirled, driving the staff through his gut. The youkai coughed, clutched at the wound, then slumped forward. Goku kicked him back, turning in time to catch another under the chin.

"Sorry about that, Goku," came Hakkai's almost cheerful voice as his hand whipped out, casting a sphere of chi at a taller one of the youkai. Gojyo watched in amazement as the youkai jumped, avoiding the blast. The wall took a beating instead, smoking slightly as though a fire had been lit to it. "Gojyo, please make yourself useful."

""Most certainly, Hakkai. Damn, there's a lot of them this time." The youkai Hakkai had aimed for was now perching on the ruins of the windowsill. "Look's like he's good," he commented. "Doubt that he's good enough for me, though." The chain of his shakujou uncoiled, the blade flashing. It cut through the neck of one of the youkai, though not the right one. "All right, maybe he's a bit fast."

Goku growled. "Yeah, he's been th' only one I can't get to. Hey, Hakkai? You bring the doctor?"

Okay, there were still quite a few youkai left. There were maybe twenty bodies lying around the room—which wasn't good for movement, considering that it was a pretty small room. Course, one of the walls _had_ been destroyed, so there was a whole other place to fight it.

"Hey, girl!" he called out to Eshana. "Get to Sanzo!"

He saw her move, dart forward. He saw one of the youkai move to intercept her, and he was all set to get rid of it when he felt something slide across his back. He winced as he felt cloth and skin give way to the edge of a metal blade, but he spun, slashing with the back end of his staff. He caught the man across the leg, though not hard enough to cut off the limb.

It was the same damn youkai that had avoided Hakkai's attack and his. Some tall, thin one, with a really odd haircut. Gojyo flipped his shakujou around, forcing the man back. His back, however, was starting to hurt, though he ignored it. And the blood loss wasn't so great…but he could ignore that as well.

There was a crash and a yell from behind him, though he didn't have any time to turn to see what had happened.

…

The first thing that came back was sound. Bangs, yells, the sounds of heavy footsteps. To his drugged mind, none of it made any sense. He could hear things, however, he couldn't move anything else. Only breathe and swallow. His arms wouldn't move, nor would his legs.

After a few moments he began to think clearly again and all of the noise suddenly made sense. A fight. There was a fight happening around him, from what he could tell. And he was just lying there, completely at the mercy of whoever decided to stick a knife in his gut. He could feel something damp on his face, running down his neck. A bit of whatever it was had leaked into his mouth. It tasted…metallic. Blood.

His blood, or someone else's? Knowing his luck, it probably belonged to him.

He tried with all his might to move something. He felt so tired, so much that even opening his eyes seemed an enormous task. He just couldn't move.

"Don't you touch him! Keep away from Sanzo!"

Goku's voice. Somewhere very close to him. So he wasn't alone. Hakkai should be there as well, though Sanzo didn't know if the kappa had returned. So two people…hopefully. Against quite a few, from what he could discern.

Damn it, had he been drugged? He supposed that he had, since there was no other reason why he shouldn't be able to move a muscle. Well, he supposed that if he were dying…being drugged seemed more plausible.

He figured that the doctor had done it. Or, the doctor's assistant, to be exact. Stupid asshole. He should have been more cautious.

"Well, doesn't look like Goku's been bored." It was Gojyo's voice. Sanzo moved his hand ever so slightly in annoyance. Maybe that worked, hearing his damned voice. Maybe that would annoy him so much that he would be able to move again.

" 'bout time you guys got here!"

"Sorry about that, Goku." It sounded as though someone had been thrown against a wall. Sanzo tried to open his eyes, only succeeding in causing his eyelids to flicker, then they shut again. "Gojyo, please make yourself useful!"

"Most certainly, Hakkai. Damn, there's a lot of them this time." The kappa said something else, but Sanzo couldn't make out what it was. Then he heard Goku, calling out across the room with his incredibly loud voice.

"Yeah, he's been th' only one I can't get to. Hey, Hakkai? You bring the doctor?" Sanzo wasn't sure if he heard Hakkai answer or not, for another voice ran out.

"Hakkai-san, what should I--?"

A woman's voice? What the hell was a woman doing with them?

"You said that you know how to wake him up."

When the woman spoke again, there was a note of panic in her voice. "I said, 'I think.' Hakkai-san, I'm not sure—"

"Eshana-san, watch out!"

There was a cry and he heard the sound of shattering glass, then he felt something hit him. A body. He forced his eyes to open.

Everything was blurry, his eyes not yet adjusted to the light. He was staring upward, seeing the ceiling light and part of a table that he seemed to be lying under. As things came back into focus, he realized that there were a few streaks of blood across the ceiling. In fact, he noticed that he seemed to be lying in a puddle of the liquid. He guessed more blood.

He tried to move his head, so that he could see the person who was lying half on him. He was able to lift his head slightly, maybe an inch or so from the ground. Not so different from the last time that he had been poisoned, though he really didn't like it. Being poisoned was definitely not on his 'fun' list.

What he was able to see was a mass of white fabric and dark hair, as well as more crimson streaks. It seemed like several minutes before the person moved, rolling off him and under the table. He heard a soft cry and saw the—woman? He supposed that this was the woman he had heard talking—reach for something on the ground.

"Hakkai-san," he heard her say; though her voice was too quite for anyone other than him to hear, "it-it shattered—"

More feeling was returning to his body now. Obviously, the poison hadn't been meant to kill him. Just…incapacitate him. Wonderful. He found himself able to move his hand, and then a myriad of little hurts and pains rushed back to him as feeling returned. What the hell—? It seemed that he had been cut up somehow. He could feel dried blood cracking on his face as he moved his mouth, saying the few words that he could to try to get the hang of speaking again.

"F-fuck this."

There was movement to his side and the woman's face came into focus. An utterly ordinary face, though it was stained with blood.

"Are you—are you waking?"

Sanzo narrowed his eyes. "W-what's it to y-you?"

The woman looked up, glancing to where someone was still fighting. "Hakkai-san! He's awake! I'm going to get him out of here!" She turned back to him. "Can you move?"

He glared at her, not wanting to admit any weakness whatsoever. At the same moment he tried to move his legs. Damn it, they weren't working yet.

The woman seemed to take his silence for a no and moved so that she was directly above his head, hooking her arms under his and trying to drag him out from under the table. Then she stopped.

"Okay, maybe that wasn't the best idea," she said, positioning herself back out of harms way.

"An-d why is t-that?"

She leaned on her elbows, hunched over in the limited space. "Youkai," she said simply, glancing back out at the carnage. "Your friends are taking care of the remaining ones. Doesn't look like Gojyo-san is having that much luck, though."

Sanzo groaned, pushing himself up on one arm and just barely missing the edge of the table. His legs still weren't working that well, but his arms were just fine. He reached for his hip, where his gun rested, and withdrew it. He grabbed the collar of the woman's dress, dragging her forward and placing the end of his gun to the side of her head.

"All right," he growled, being able to speak again, "who are you?"

The woman went still, her eyes locked with his. "My name is Eshana. I am a friend of the innkeeper here, Lok, as well as a friend of a woman that your red-haired friend has been spending a lot of time with. Earlier this morning, I offered to guide Hakkai-san to the doctor's house on the outskirts of town. I also offered my help in dealing with you, I might add."

He didn't release her. "Those words could have several meanings. Either that you decided to help to save me, or to kill me. Which is it?"

She didn't even blink as she answered. "I doubt that you would believe me, even if I told the truth. But no, I did not plan to kill you." She made no move to knock the gun away, or to get out of its line of fire. "The doctor was not able to come to your aid, and I have a small amount of knowledge when it comes to healing and herbs. However, it seems that you have woken up on your own, so even if the vial holding the herb that I was going to use hadn't been smashed, I wouldn't have had to use it. Though I do not expect you to believe me."

"And why is that?" His finger tightened ever so slightly on the trigger. The woman's eyes flickered towards it for a moment, then returned to his.

"Because that is my impression of you." She then closed her eyes, releasing the breath that she had been holding. "That you wouldn't believe me. But the fighting appears to have stopped, Priest Sanzo. I suggest you run my story by your friends, before you kill me."

The table was moved to the side, lifted away by Hakkai. He glanced down at them, though Sanzo didn't let his eyes leave Eshana. "Sanzo, please put your gun away. I do not believe Miss Eshana to be a threat to us."

Sanzo didn't move. "Did she offer to help you earlier, Hakkai?"

Hakkai nodded. "Yes, she did. At quite a risk to her own well being, I might add. Now, please put your gun away. I doubt that is a comfortable position for her."

Sanzo removed the gun from her temple, though kept it out and aimed at her. "I don't—"

"Damn guy got away." Gojyo winced as he walked up, one hand on his back. "Shit, Hakkai? I think my back's pretty good an' torn up."

"Sanzo! _Sanzo!_ You're awake!" Goku practically _bounced_ over to them, perching on the overturned table.

"Sanzo, please put that gun away. I can assure you, there is no need for it."

He could feel a headache coming on. Maybe it would have been better to remain unconscious.

* * *

A/N2: Well, that turned out to be the longest chapter so far, in terms of words. Over 5, 000! I'm not going to say how many more chapters where they are going to still be in this town, but at _least_ two or three more. My predictions never turn out quite right, so don't count on that. But there will be a lot more to this story (at least, a lot more is planned). 

Thank you for reading,

Raven


	8. Run

A/N: I'm sorry that this chapter took so long to get out. There's been a lot going on in real life, and this story got pushed to the back burner for a while. Also, the characters weren't really behaving as I wanted them to...

This chapter is also pretty short, compared to the last chapter. It is a bit of a transitional chapter. I wasn't quite sure how to start it, either, so it took a while to write. It also starts a bit of time after the end of the last chapter; Eshana is no longer in the room. I'll explain a what happened in the next chapter, though not in any great detail.

Sorry, for the wait. Thank you to all who reviewed, and all who read.

* * *

Round 8: Run

"Gojyo, hold still. This wound is pretty deep, and I need to disinfect it first, before I heal it. The gods only know how much we need another person to fall ill." Hakkai dabbed at the gash in Gojyo back with a piece of fabric that had been saturated with alcohol. The kappa winced, grinding his teeth together.

"Damn it, Hakkai. Why the hell—" His words cut off as he let his head drop, resting it in his hands. "Shit, you leave that damn priest alone for five minutes and he gets in a crap load of trouble!"

There was a clicking sound beside his head and Gojyo glanced to the side, not surprised to find Sanzo's revolver aimed at his skull.

"You want another injury?" The priest was moving surprisingly fast for someone who had just been…poisoned? Gojyo still wasn't quite getting it, but that was all right. He supposed.

Gojyo attempted to smirk, though the expression turned to a grimace as Hakkai attacked his back with the alcohol again. "What, is there some other youkai who wants to kill me?"

Hakkai sighed, corking the bottle of alcohol and setting it to the side. "Sanzo, please put your gun away. After all, it would be a waste to kill him after I've worked so hard to patch him up."

Sanzo glanced at the green-eyed man, gun still aimed at Gojyo. "You haven't healed him yet, Hakkai."

"Yeah, all you've done is waste precious alcohol—wait. Why am I agreeing with you?" Gojyo frowned, then winced again.

"Blood loss," Hakkai said, almost pleasantly. Far too calmly, especially for someone who was patching up his friends back. "And most likely a sleepless night. I am assuming you were with that woman—Kioko-san?"

Gojyo nodded. "Yeah, I was. But nothing happened."

"Somehow, I doubt that." Sanzo returned his gun to its holster, sitting down on the edge of the bed. He was still glaring in Gojyo's general direction. Doubtless the damned priest thought that shooting him would just be a waste of bullets, or something else like that. "Now, Hakkai? Will you explain what happened, as I am sure this idiot needs to hear again."

Gojyo almost jumped up at that. As it was, he merely narrowed his eyes and curled his hands into fists. "You fucking priest. Why don't you just admit that you don't understand what Hakkai said?"

"Gojyo, I told you to hold still." Hakkai held his hands over the lower portion of Gojyo's back, where a red slash seemed to divide him in half. He was still bleeding, the blood running down his sides to pool on the floor.

He supposed that Hakkai was right when he mentioned blood loss might be clouding his judgment.

Then he felt something along that part of his back. He supposed that Hakkai had begun using his chi to heal the wound; his skin heated slightly, as though a candle was being held several inches from it. After a moment, however, the temperature dropped, and then it felt like thousands of needles--or some other sharp pointed thing like that—were being driven through his skin and deep into his flesh. The pain, which had dulled since the wound was originally inflicted, came flaring back as the muscles knit themselves back together and the blood vessels repaired themselves. He inhaled sharply, his face paling. He'd had no idea that it hurt this much to be healed. The last time Hakkai had healed him he'd been unconscious.

Crap, that hurt.

There was one last bit of searing pain, as though fire had been set upon his skin, and then it was gone. Gojyo uncurled one hand, just now realizing how tensed he had become. His nails had dug into his palms to deeply that they had left small crescent shaped indents.

In place of the pain, however, was a feeling of extreme weakness, as though he had been sick and out of it for weeks. He hated the feeling.

"Holy…hell," he gasped out, setting his forehead against the table.

"Indeed. Now, please try not to do anything to reopen that wound." Gojyo turned his head just in time to see Hakkai take one shaking step, then the man practically collapsed into a chair.

"Believe me, I won't." Gojyo reached his arm around, running a hand over his back. Skin; smooth except for a ridge of scar tissue. Hakkai's healing wasn't perfect, by any means. Left a scar, was easily reopened—unless it was something small and insignificant, and in that case Hakkai had no reason to heal it—took a ton of energy out of Hakkai, and hurt like hell to go through. "You all right?"

Hakkai nodded, though Gojyo noticed that his face seemed paler. The dark haired man raised a hand to his head, massaging his temples. "Yes. It might have been better to wait until I was fully recovered from our last—well, I suppose it can no longer be considered our last incident. However, waiting any longer would have resulted in you being dead."

"You should have waited, Hakkai," growled Sanzo, withdrawing a package of cigarettes from his robes. "Would have saved me the trouble of killing him."

Hakkai gazed at the priest, a wry smile on his lips. "Oh, and Sanzo? It would be best if you were to not smoke for a few days. Or drink any alcoholic beverages. Depending on what poison was used—or what drug, as that is what I am guessing that it was—mixing any of them could produce some…unwanted results."

Sanzo paused, an unlit cigarette between his fingers. "Like hell, Hakkai."

Hakkai swallowed, his eyes squeezing shut. "I'd think that you wouldn't want to risk holding up this mission any longer, Sanzo. If you do end up causing something that is possibly even fatal by ignoring my words we may end up stalling for quite a long time."

Gojyo managed a smirk, though he still felt feverish and weak. "Can't argue with that logic, boyo. Might want to put those things away."

Hakkai stepped in before Sanzo could say anything or do anything, setting a hand on Gojyo's shoulder. "I would also suggest that you give up the cigarettes for a few days; at least until you've had some time to recover."

"You were saying, kappa?" Despite Hakkai's words, Sanzo had the cigarette in his mouth and was lighting it. Seeing the look on the man's face, Sanzo stopped for a moment. "I'm not giving these up."

Hakkai glanced at Gojyo. "I suppose that _you_ won't be taking my advice either?"

"Damn straight," said Gojyo with a strained grin. "Hell, I'll probably be half-dead next week, whether I smoke or not. Knowing our luck, I'll end up with some knife in my gut. After all, that fucking youkai got away."

"Speaking of that youkai, I believe we should discuss what we are going to do next." Hakkai sat back down, though the color was slowly returning to his face.

"What is there to discuss?" asked Sanzo, exhaling a cloud of smoke. "We get out of this damned town. We've been sidetracked for far too long, and we can't afford it. From what you've explained to me, Hakkai, those youkai attacks all happened when we were separated. It seems to well coordinated to be just chance."

Hakkai nodded. "I agree. In fact, I don't think that you being drugged was simply chance either. All of this points to someone behind it."

Gojyo raised his eyebrows. "Our wonderful friend Kougaiji?" The pain in his back was fading by the moment, making him feel much more comfortable.

Hakkai shrugged, leaning back against the wall. "It could be. He hasn't been around for a while; you never know if he's come up with some better way to kill us, or to get the sutra, whichever is his aim."

Gojyo shot Hakkai a sharp look. "You all right?"

The man sighed. "I already answered that, Gojyo."

Gojyo sat up a bit straighter, feeling the scar on his back stretch painfully with his movement. "You look like shit."

"Why, thank you."

"What he means is that you'd better quite healing people when you, yourself, are injured. You'll kill yourself one of these days."

Hakkai smiled weakly. "I thank you for your concern, Sanzo. But please, don't worry about me. I know when it is too much."

Gojyo snorted. "Yes, of course you do. That's why you have a habit of passing out after healing." A shadow passed over Hakkai's face, and Gojyo decided that he had better let the topic drop. "So. Where's the monkey?"

Hakkai seemed relieved that the conversation had moved away from his healing abilities. "I sent Goku to pick up our things. As it is, he is in the best condition."

Gojyo stifled a laugh. "You sure that's smart? The idiot'll end up blowing all our money on food. Wait," his eyes grew wide, "you didn't give him the credit card, did you?"

Hakkai dipped his head. "Yes, I did. Goku isn't that irresponsible, Gojyo. He knows what to do, and he will do it."

Sanzo tapped the ash off of the end of his cigarette. "Are you sure this is the same Goku that we all know?"

Gojyo grinned, rubbing a hand over the scar. Damn, it still hurt. "The brat doesn't even know how to buy something! He'll try to eat the card, Hakkai! Crap, he'd probably do that, too!"

Hakkai folded his hands in his lap, the smile gone from his face. "I think that you underestimate him, Gojyo. You as well, Sanzo." He leaned forward slightly, as though that would get his point across better. "Food isn't all that makes up Goku."

"Could have fooled me."

Hakkai sighed, rising from his seat. "I can see that you don't believe me. I told him to be back by lunch, then I would buy him something to eat. Does that make you feel better, Gojyo?"

Gojyo was shocked. There was almost a bitter quality to Hakkai's voice, something that Gojyo hadn't heard for quite some time. There wasn't that much to the monkey, was there? Granted, Hakkai had a way of seeing more to someone than what met the eye, but still. Goku wasn't that hard to figure out. Was he?

…

At that moment, in the middle of town, Goku was sitting on the bench where he and Hakkai had waited for Gojyo the night before. There were several packages lying next to him, containing the clothing and supplies that Hakkai had asked him to pick up. He'd had a small amount of trouble getting and paying for them, as his looks and mannerisms marked him as someone too young to have money. It took him quite a while to convince the salesperson that he did indeed have the money and that he was also the person who needed the stuff.

And stuff was really what he could call it, as he hadn't been paying attention when Hakkai had ordered it the day before. He didn't know what was in the packages, though he was pretty sure that Sanzo's robes were in one of them…

His stomach was rumbling, but he had promised Hakkai that he wouldn't buy anything to eat until he returned to the room. He wasn't particularly happy about that promise, but he had give Hakkai his word, and he wouldn't break it. No matter how good the smells from the food booths around the market were.

He kicked his foot idly before him. There weren't a lot of people out, and those that were talked only about the youkai attacks from earlier. There was also some talk about a red haired guy who had taken out more than a dozen of them; Goku was sure they were talking about Gojyo. After all, there weren't many red haired people around, and who else would go after that many youkai? Or be attacked by that many?

He should probably head back to the room. It was getting close to lunch time, he had all the stuff, and he really had no reason to be sitting here.

Then, from the corner of his eye, Goku saw something that had him tense and sit up straight.

A man was limping along, walking near to the walls of the buildings so that he could use them for support. He appeared to be completely human, but Goku had fought with that man long enough to recognize the short hair and the angular features of his face. Also, he remembered Gojyo slicing that man across the leg, and this guy was limping.

There was no doubt in his mind; this was the youkai that had attacked him.

Goku held one of the packages in front of his face as the man passed. Good, he didn't appear to have noticed him, just continued on his way…out of town? The street that he had turned onto seemed to lead out towards the forest.

Goku gathered up the bags and packages in his arms, silently cursing himself for having them. He should have just left them behind on the bench, but he carried them with him. If he needed to fight, he could just drop them.

Staying at a distance behind the man, Goku followed him down the street. No one spoke to him at all; it was as though no one knew him. Then, from one of the alleyways, stepped another man, this time one with longer black hair. He approached the first man and set his hand on his shoulder. The two stood there for a moment, speaking, then moved off again, the second man supporting the first.

Goku's blood ran cold. He knew that second man. It was the guy who had shown up the night before, who had looked at Sanzo's wound. The guy who had poisoned him! He was sure of it, especially now that he saw those two together.

He didn't bother to follow the two the rest of the way to forest; he turned tail and began to sprint back the way he had come, his grip tightening on the packages. He needed to tell the others what he had just seen. He knew it was important, and he knew that they would want to hear about it.

He wasn't paying so much attention to where he was running, so it was inevitable what happened. He ran headlong into someone, knocking them over, and sending his packages flying.

"I'm sorry," he said breathlessly, scrambling to retrieve them. "I-I wasn't looking where I was going."

"That's all right." One of the packages was handed to him, and Goku looked up. It was a young woman who held it, her skin darker than most of the other people around. She didn't look incredibly out of place, just…different. "You seem to be in a hurry."

Goku took the bundle, tucking it under his arm. "Yeah. Um, I'm sorry." He wasn't sure what else to say, and he really needed to get going. It felt strange to be apologizing, as he didn't do that very often. Of course, he didn't run into people that often, either, unless he did it on purpose. If that were the case it was typically during a fight. Therefore, he wouldn't apologize. But right now… "Sorry, but I have to go."

He took off at a run, just barely catching her laugh and the words, "watch where you're going!"

The inn was still pretty much in shambles, one wall caving inward. The bottom floor seemed all right, and Goku hoped that they would be able to rebuild. Not that he had any attachment to the inn or anything; he just didn't like the idea that they were leaving someone without their business.

As he raced into the inn, he saw the innkeeper—he still didn't know his name—cleaning something up. There were other people helping, but he was the only one that he recognized, even if he didn't know his name.

He passed him, feet pounding on the stairs as he hurried up to the second floor. There was no one else in the hall, so he didn't have to worry about running into anyone.

Their room was easy to find. The door was torn of its hinges.

"Guys!" he practically yelled as he entered the room, dropping all of the packages to the ground. "Guys, I just saw something that I really need to tell you about!"

Gojyo, who was leaning on the table, smoking, looked up. "Would you look at that. Hakkai was right. Monkey actually did the shopping."

Goku decided to ignore the comment. After all, what he had to say was far more important, and he didn't want to get into a fight with Gojyo before he said it. "Yeah, I did. But guys, I just saw that youkai from earlier. Th' one who beat up Gojyo." He couldn't help but taunt the kappa. After all, he had just insulted him with the whole monkey line.

"What do you mean, beat me up?"

Hakkai rose from where he was sitting, coming and picking up the bags and packages. "Where did you see him, Goku?" He set about inspecting the bundles, passing one of them over to Sanzo.

"In th' market. And before you ask, I'm sure it was him. He was limping, an' I know that Gojyo got him across the legs." Goku paused, sitting down on the ground, resting his head in his hands. "Are you guys even listening to me?"

He saw Sanzo nod very slightly. "Continue, Goku."

"Well, I followed him. An' he started heading out towards the forest, an' met up with this other guy. I'm pretty sure it was th' same one that came in place of th' doctor the other night, Hakkai!"

Hakkai nodded slowly. "That makes sense, from what we know. Sanzo." He turned his head so that he could see the priest. "We need to get out of this town."

"I couldn't agree with you more." Sanzo leaned forward and crushed his cigarette in the ashtray. Goku wrinkled his nose at the smell of smoke, though he was used to it by now. "I've asked around, as to how close the next village is. Unfortunately, it is at least two days drive away. However, we need to leave today. Before dark."

"That final?" asked Gojyo, looking up. Sanzo responded with a curt nod of his head. "Well, then, I'm off!" He rose, stretching. As he turned to pull his shirt back on, Goku caught sight of a new scar marring his back. He guessed that Hakkai had healed him.

"To where, kappa? I thought I kept telling you not to run off and get yourself into trouble," growled Sanzo, lighting himself a new cigarette. Gojyo shrugged, a cocky smile on his face.

"Got a girl I'm not going to keep waiting. See you all!"

"Don't do anything to reopen your wound, Gojyo," called Hakkai as the kappa walked out the door.

"Yeah, yeah. I hear you."

Then he was gone.

"Damn kappa." Sanzo was scowling, opening up the package. Sure enough, inside were his robes, repaired and without the bloodstains covering them. "Should've shot him."

"Now, now, Sanzo. We need him for this journey." Hakkai was moving around the room, gathering the few things that they had brought with them. "Well, we have enough food to last a few days. I'd say we are ready to leave. When Gojyo gets back, that is."

"Hakkai?" Goku looked up, his stomach rumbling. "You said that you'd get me lunch."

Hakkai turned and smile. "That I did. Coming, Sanzo?"

Sanzo snorted. "No."

"Come on, Sanzo!" pleaded Goku, jumping up. "It'll be fun."

Hakkai seemed to decide to join Goku. "Besides, Sanzo, you do need the food."

Sanzo looked up, his eyes narrowed. "Feh," he said, standing up. "Fine. But get everything ready so that we can leave from where ever you two drag me."

Hakkai inclined his head. "All right. You might want to change then, Sanzo. Goku, please help me get things together."

Goku wilted visibly. "We aren't going to get th' food now?"

Hakkai smiled pleasantly, carefully folding things and placing them in bags, setting all of the finished things by the door. "The faster we get this done, the faster we can get the food, all right?"

Goku nodded. "All right, Hakkai."

* * *

A/N2: I was debating whether or not to have the Gojyo/Kioko part in this chapter or not. I decided it was going to be in the next one, as it fit better there. 

Until next time,

Raven


	9. Leaving

A/N: I'd like to apologize for leaving this hanging for so long. I decided to take down chapter 10 and just call this it. I think that it closes off nicely, and, frankly, I have lost inspiration in the Saiyuki category. I may continue this, someday, but life has gotten hectic, and I have other story ideas, as well as many original stories that must be written. Thank you all for reading.

* * *

Round 9: Leaving 

It was a short walk through town to reach Kioko's house. The streets were far more crowded than they had been earlier in the day, but Gojyo found it easy to navigate through them. As a plus, his long legs were able to carry him farther, faster.

The sun had just passed its zenith when he headed toward the small house, the shadows beginning to lengthen, but the light not turning the orange that came with the evening. Few clouds tainted the sky, and all was bright and blue and warm. If he ignored the few splashes of blood on the street as he walked, he could forget than anything had ever happened.

It hadn't been his best fight, he decided as he walked. He'd been pretty unprepared, to say the least, and he'd been alone. Despite his dislike of Sanzo, he had to admit that he was good to have around in a fight. That gun of his seemed easy to use. Just point, shoot, and watch as the bastards died.

Of course, he preferred Hakkai to the priest. Same long range fighting crap, and as an added bonus he had the ability to heal someone, even if it hurt like hell. And Hakkai didn't get on his nerves. That often.

The kid was pretty nice to have around as well. He was certainly enthusiastic. And full of surprises, as Gojyo learned earlier, when Goku actually came back with the—with whatever it was that Hakkai had asked him to pick up. Had he been paying any attention when there were shopping? Of course not; he spent the time checking out the girls. Something that he would be sure not to tell Kioko; he had learned long ago about jealous women, and they were no fun to be around. It didn't matter that he had only known Kioko for what, one day? Two days? It was best not to get her jealous, even if he were leaving in short order.

That was part of the reason why he was going to see her. Well, not so much the jealousy thing. But she was a nice girl and Gojyo liked to consider himself a gentleman. When it came to some things. Such as leaving a girl. Unless it was already said beforehand that it was a one night thing, he liked to say a proper goodbye. If it were up to him, he would take his time. Try to have some fun, that sort of stuff.

He wouldn't do that this time, though. Kioko didn't seem the sort of girl to do anything like that. He didn't even know her that well, but after last night...well, he wouldn't count on anything. But he would still say goodbye, make sure that she knew that he was leaving. It was the right thing to do.

See, there were different types of girls, and he would treat them all differently. There were those who only wanted the same thing that he did. A hot night with no strings attached. Those wouldn't remain in his mind for very long, and he wouldn't take a long time to say goodbye. Unless, of course, the goodbye consisted of another round under the covers. Then it could take a long time.

Then there were the girls who were completely off limits, the ones that he knew through friends, were married—one thing that he would never do was try to tear a marriage or a relationship apart. Especially if there were kids involved. With those girls, goodbyes were easy. Yeah, he might make some suggestive comments, might wink or do something like that, but he would pretty much just say goodbye and be off. They were the type of girls that a goodbye would be the type that he could say to anyone he met. A simple word, and then he would walk off. Kioko would have been one of those girls who he probably wouldn't have cared enough about after that one conversation to think of her. He would have just dismissed her altogether because of her kid. Except for the fact that she wasn't married.

So it came down the girls like her, who were so different from his normal fare that when he took interest in them and got to know them...well, he found them refreshingly different. Those girls who wouldn't go farther than a kiss or something like that, who he could talk to, who seemed to actually see him as a person, instead of a body.

The problem with girls like that...they were easy to get attached to. And he didn't like that. He didn't want to get attached, especially on this damned journey. Because he would just leave them, and there was a chance that they would cry.

So it was a good thing that he was leaving today. He'd say goodbye to Kioko and then be on his way. She'd stay in his mind for a few days and, hopefully, seeing some other hot girl in the next town would drive her out completely.

But it _was_ nice to have gotten to know her, for however briefly. It was different, being around her, as opposed to Hakkai and Sanzo and Goku. And it was nice seeing a kid, especially a kid who seemed so similar to himself. Well, there were differences between the two, big differences, but they were alike through their blood. They were both half breeds, always getting taunted and insulted. At the very least, there were the looks that others gave them. Gojyo had seen it, on those few occasions that the boy had been near him. Those angry, frightened, demeaning glances. Some of them, of course, had been directed towards him, and he had grown so used to them that they didn't bother him. He'd told that to himself enough that it was now the truth. But it bothered him, angered him, that a kid that young, that innocent, would be treated like that.

Not everyone knew a halfbreed by sight. Some didn't even know what they were. Hell, he'd bet that there were even humans out there that had no idea what a youkai was! But people could always tell that he was different, in someway. His hair, his eyes, that was part of it. But he had once been told--by a girl he had slept with, no less—that there was something about him that either drew or repelled someone. She'd told him that the first time she had seen him there had been this...this strangeness about him that had seemed abrasive, really. Something that had almost set her skin crawling. With her, well, she had been drawn to him by that strangeness. Others, he guessed, felt that strangeness and became uneasy.

She had also said that after being around him for awhile, the feeling had died. It was still there, of course, in the edge of her mind, but she could ignore it if she wished to.

She was one of those girls he couldn't forget. Not that he had fallen in love with her or anything; he'd been with her for three nights, before she had left town. It wasn't her looks; she hadn't been the most beautiful woman he had ever met. It was just how she was able to talk to him, how she was able to look him in the eye and not flinch, or even comment on the color of them. She'd treated him like any other person, and he spent enough time during those three days watching her to know how she treated others.

She'd been the first person to tell him about the oddness that surrounded him, and for that he was grateful. Even if he didn't like the idea that he was so strange. He was grateful because he couldn't step out of himself and observe how he acted. She told him what no one before had, and what no one had said since. Sometimes, he wondered if what she had said was true. He only had to look into the eyes of those watching him to know that it was. And now, seeing this young boy, he could feel it.

There _was_ something strange about that boy. But for him, there was no...abrasive feeling, as that girl had put it. There was only an odd sense of kinship. He couldn't begin to understand it. He supposed it had to do with finding someone else who could relate to him, who he could relate to.

He reached Kioko's house before he knew it, his mind having distracted him from most other things. He blinked a few times, as though seeing things for the first time. Damn, was it possible to think oneself to death? If so, he had probably just come close. He didn't like the idea that he had spent the entire time dwelling on things from the past, things that he didn't care to think about.

Gojyo pushed open the gate to the yard, the hinge squeaking as it moved. Then he looked to the side and groaned. "Not you again."

She'd changed out of her bloodstained dress, and she seemed in far better order than how he had last seen her, but there was no doubt that this was that same damned girl that kept popping up. Eshana, if he could trust him memory.

"It's nice to see you, too," she said, the lightest touch of sarcasm lacing her words. She was kneeling on the ground, scrubbing something in a tub of soapy water. "If you're looking for Kioko, she's inside. I'd suggest you wait out here, though. She'll be out in a few minutes. Vatsa, get those shirts off the ground. I don't want to wash them again."

The red haired boy stuck out his tongue at the woman, but bent to pick up the shirts he had dropped. Gojyo couldn't help but smile as he saw him drape them haphazardly over a clothesline. Obviously didn't want to be helping.

"Laundry day?" He leaned back against the fence, hands shoved into his pockets. Eshana nodded, then looked up and scowled.

"That's fence's half rotten. I wouldn't do that if I were you." She pulled whatever it was she was washing out of the water, inspecting part of it. "Hate bloodstains."

Gojyo moved away from the fence, watching the girl as she began scrubbing at the material with a vengence. "Damn, you're in a bad mood."

Vatsa, who had finished hanging up his laundry and had been watching Gojyo with interest, let his mouth drop open. "Aunt Eshana! He just said a bad word, didn't he?"

Eshana smiled at the boy. "Yes, Vatsa, he did. If he says another, you have my permission to dump a bucket of water over his head."

"Hey!" His outburst caused Eshana to turn his way, and he caught the full intensity of her glare. "Fine, I won't say anything else 'bad'. But really, what's gotten you in such a bad mood?"

Eshana continued to glare at him. "Getting a gun pointed at my head, what do you think?"

Gojyo shrugged. "Ain't all that bad."

Eshana let out a heavy breath, removing the garment from the soapy water and handing it to Vatsa. "Rinse it for me, sweetie." The boy nodded, dunking it into a tub full of relatively clean water. She pulled a stained shirt from a basket sitting beside her and then just sat there for a moment. "You know, he could have been just a _little_ more grateful." She shoved the shirt under the water, swirling it around.  
"I mean, it's not like I risked my life for him or anything."

Gojyo let out a snort of laughter. "Hey, girl, you're lucky he wasn't in a bad mood." Eshana glanced at him and he put up his hands. "All right, he was in a bad mood. But how would you be if you were poisoned?"

"Who got poisoned?" Vatsa asked, sitting down beside the tub of water, rubbing his hands in the dirt until they were covered completely in it. "Aunt Eshana? Who got poisoned?"

Eshana ruffled the boy's hair with a soapy hand. "A friend of Gojyo-san here. Don't worry about it, it has nothing to do with you. Now, go and wash your hands, unless you want to get mud all over these clean clothes."

Vatsa nodded, picking himself up off the ground. "Should I tell Mom that Mr. Gojyo-san is here?"

"Yes, dear. She will want to know." As soon as the boy was inside the house, she turned back to him. "Look, Gojyo-san, I'm not happy about how upset that Sanzo got me--"

"Well, it's hard to be happy when you're upset."

She sighed irritably. "Could you stop that? And it really didn't help that you all practically threw me out after I helped you; Hakkai-san was the only civil one!" She wrung out the shirt, draping it over the side of the tub. "Really, what is that priest's problem? Yes, I'd be jumpy after being poisoned, but continuing to threaten me, even after Hakkai-san explained everything? He didn't deserve my help!"

"I agree with you there." Gojyo's smile grew wider. "Don't like him much myself."

"Hmph. So, what _are_ you doing around here?" she asked, rising to her feet and taking the basket of soapy clothes over to the tub of cleaner water. "Forget I asked that. You're here to see Kioko, obviously. Damn stress and shock; scatter all my thoughts."

Gojyo smirked. "Does that mean I get to dump the water over your head?"

Eshana rolled her eyes, dumping all of the clothes into the water. "No. And Vatsa isn't around, so it doesn't matter if your language gets a little worse."

Strange girl, he thought, watching her. All right, maybe she wasn't strange. She just seemed to change how she acted all the time. Granted, he hadn't known her for that long, but he'd seen her scared, emotionless, and now really pissed off. Thinking about it, it would probably be best just to ignore Sanzo when he aimed that fucking gun at his head.

"Answer me something," he said, crouching down beside her. She stiffened slightly, her eyes locking with his.

"What?"

"The kid." He gestured towards the house and watched as Eshana's eyes darted towards it. "I'm pretty sure Kioko mentioned that he wasn't really hers. She also mentioned something about her friend. That couldn't be you, could it?"

"What do you want to know, Gojyo-san?" Eshana wrung out a skirt, shaking it before her, then walked to the clothesline and hung it up. "Because that wasn't really a question."

He shrugged. "Just something simple. Where's the kid from?"

The answer was short, one word. "India."

Gojyo sat back on his heels, frowning. "India? As in, from the west? Then what's he doing up here?"

Eshana sighed, wiping a hand across her forehead. "I don't know, living? Gojyo-san, I don't think that you really need to know this. It doesn't really concern you. After all, he isn't your son."

Gojyo was still trying to figure things out in his own mind. He'd known the kid's name was different, as was this woman's. "Are you from India as well?"

"If I answer, would you stop asking me questions? Yes, I am."

"One last question. Do you know a quick route to India from here?" He saw her frown and hoped that she had an answer for that. After all, if she knew some way, then maybe they could get there faster.

Eshana sat in silence for a few minutes, in which Gojyo began to think that maybe she hadn't heard him. He was about to ask again when she spoke. "Well, no. Not really. A few years back, I could have told you a pretty good route. But with all that's been happening out in the world, I really don't know. I'll just warn you, in case you ever get far enough..." Her voice trailed off.

Warn? Was there some sort of massive youkai group out there or something? "Warn me about what?"

"The mountains," she answered, upending the tub of now dirty water over the ground. Gojyo jumped back just in time to keep it from rushing over his boots. "It is quite some distance from here; you can't even see them if you look towards the horizon. But they are there, and they are hard to cross, especially if you don't know where to go. I'm sure there is a way around them, though it might mean taking a jaunt across the ocean." She paused, looking up at him. "What, are you headed towards India?"

Gojyo shrugged. He wasn't really sure if he should have even asked her that question. Damn, if that priest knew, he'd try to shoot him again. Great. "Just wondering."

"Really." She didn't sound convinced. Then her head whipped around as the sound of a door opening reached his ears. "Looks like Kioko's coming out." Then her eyes narrowed and she stood up and walked over to him, so that they were no more than a foot apart. "I'm warning you, Gojyo-san. If you do anything to hurt her, I'll kill you."

His eyebrows shot up and he frowned. "You serious?"

"Do you even need to ask that? I don't joke about things like this."

He was probably an idiot for having asked that. Of course she was serious, he could see that in the way she stood, in the way that she spoke. If he hurt her friend then this girl here would try to kill him. As if she really could. But she would still try. He guessed that he could respect that. For a moment, he wondered about the relationship between the women. Then he shook his mind away from it as Kioko came out of the house.

He looked up and saw her walking toward them, a basket full of laundry in her arms. She appeared to be exhausted, setting the basket down beside Eshana. "Good afternoon, Gojyo-san." She smiled brightly at him, but he could see shadows marring the skin under her eyes.

"Do you want me to watch Vatsa?" asked Eshana, taking the boy by his hand as Kioko nodded. This was greeted by Vatsa pulling away and muttering about how he could take care of himself.

Kioko smiled down at the red haired boy, then looked up at Gojyo. "Would you like to come inside?"

"Yeah. It was good talking to you, Eshana." He set an arm around Kioko's shoulders, guiding her towards the house. Damn, it looked as though she were about to fall over.

Once inside, Gojyo led her to the couch, setting her down. As soon as she was sitting, Kioko's head fell and she sagged against the back.

"You all right, beautiful?" he asked, sitting down beside her. Hell, he knew she wasn't all right. But it was better to give people a choice as to what to say. Kioko glanced up at him and gave a short laugh that turned into a small cry.

"No," she said, letting her head roll back so that it was resting on the couch. "I'm not. I wish I was, but..." She closed her eyes and laughed again.

"Hey. Girl." Gojyo wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "I'll listen."

Kioko let her head rest on his collarbone, silent for a few minutes. Finally, she looked up. "I was fine this morning. You know that. Actually, I was happier than I've been in a long time. But then," she turned her head away, her eyes narrowing it what Gojyo thought could pass for hate, "my neighbor showed up and decided to give me a lovely lecture on appropriate behavior concerning men who passed through our village. Never mind that _she_ is an unmarried woman who lives with a man; _I _have to set an example for my son, despite the fact that she doesn't think very highly of him. Finally, as she is leaving, she decides to tell me that the red haired man that I was so _friendly_ with is in a fight with some youkai in the middle of the main street!"

Gojyo wasn't sure how to respond to that, but soon realized that he didn't have to. Kioko was nowhere near done. "So I was worried. I'm _still _worried. Youkai in the village, attacking someone I know, what else would I be? Frightened, yes. So I locked up the doors and told Vatsa not to go outside. He wasn't pleased about that, at all. Have you ever had a seven year old cooped up with you in a small house? It isn't fun, by any means, and I still had the kitchen to clean up. _Then_ Vatsa discovered that some sort of bug had gotten into all the linens and made a mess of things; that's why he was outside with Eshana washing them." She took a deep breath, then looked up at him. "Am I boring you?"

"Nope. Not at all. Keep going, it you've got more to say." That was a bit of a lie. It was boring, in the way that he didn't really need to hear about it. But...well...situations involving emotional women had _sometimes_ worked out to his advantage.

Kioko ran a hand through her hair, sighing in exhaustion. "About an hour later, well, a little more than half and hour ago, Eshana comes back. Completely covered in blood and ranting on and on about ungrateful priests. Then she tells me that _you_ were injured. Were you? How badly? She-Eshana didn't say much about anything that happened, and I was so worried--" Her voice broke at that moment and her head fell back to rest against his shoulder. Gojyo ran a hand over her hair, pulling several pins from it as he did so.

"Yeah, I got into trouble," he said, brushing his hand through her hair so that it fell from the knot that it had been in, draping itself in a white curtain around her shoulders. "Bunch of fucking youkai. One of them got be across the back with a knife."

Kioko looked up at him, her eyes wide. "T-then it was bad?" He nodded. "Then why are you here? How could you get here? Are you going to be all right?"

"Calm down, Kioko. Breath." He let his arms fall so that they rested on her hips, holding her against himself. "I'm fine. My friend, the one you met, he's a healer. Got me patched up, though it hurt like hell when he was doing it. And I'm here because, well...I've got something that I gotta tell you."

Kioko eyes narrowed, though he wasn't sure why. "What?" she asked, her voice soft. Gojyo loosened his hold upon her enough so that they could see eye to eye.

"I'm leaving. I mean—shit, that was too blunt, wasn't it?" He saw the hurt in her eyes the moment he said it, though it was a bit to late to correct any damage. Besides, did it really matter? He _was_ leaving. He wouldn't be seeing her again after this. So did it really matter if she was hurt?

"A bit." Her voice was still so soft and her eyes were guarded so that he half believed he had imagined that hurt. "Just a bit, Gojyo-san." She sighed, dropping her arms so that she was no longer holding him. "I was expecting this, at least a little. After all, you didn't say that you would be here long. I just thought it would be more than two, three days. I thought you would be here at least a week." She looked away, out the window where he could just see Eshana and Vatsa folding a few of the sheets. "Though I guess it is better this way. No attachment, right?"

Gojyo inwardly winced. Ouch. Yeah, that was kind of it. But if he said anything like that, agreed to what she had just said, wouldn't that hurt her more?

"I thought we'd be staying longer," he said instead of answering her question. "But we've got to move on. We've stalled here for longer than the leader of our group thinks in necessary, and it isn't real good to anger him. You're friends found that out. Besides, with this attack..." He let his voice trail off, tangling his fingers in a strand of her hair. "It's dangerous for us to stay here. There could be trouble for you, and I don't want you getting hurt."

"That's...nice." Kioko smiled faintly, her eyes closing as he traced his fingers over her cheek. "So, you came here to say goodbye?" He nodded, surprised when she leaned forward and kissed him lightly. When she pulled back, the smile was still on her face, a little brighter than before. "Thank you. You don't know how glad I am that you did."

"You're not--" he began, but Kioko set a hand to his mouth, cutting off his words.

"Hurt? Yes. Yes, I am, Gojyo-san. But not as much as I could be. Besides, I knew you would be leaving, and I have no right to keep you here, if that is what you are thinking."

"I'm not," he answered truthfully. "Course, your friend told me that she'd kill me if I hurt you, so I thought that I'd better find out if I did or not."

Kioko shook her head. "I wish she hadn't said that. She really had no right. Sometimes, she can be as bad as that neighbor I told you about. Her heart is in the right place, but she—don't worry about her. You'll be gone soon, and I highly doubt that she would follow you just to get her so called 'revenge'." She gave a small laugh that sounded very sad to him. "No, Gojyo-san. You haven't hurt me intentionally. You're simply leaving, and I am always hurt when someone leaves, especially when I am not sure if I will ever see them again." She paused for a moment before speaking again. "I won't see you again, will I?"

He knew that answer to that. This was something that he had to answer, no matter what. "No, Kioko. I doubt it. Not that I don't want to see you again, but things in life are never certain. Especially not in my life."

Kioko dipped her head. "I know. I just—it would have been nice. To have more time together."

"We've got maybe half an hour," he said, thinking it wise to tell her how long he would be around. "Less if my friends decide that we need to leave sooner."

"Oh." There was a slightly sparkling in her eyes and Gojyo winced again. Oh, no.

"Hey, beautiful," he said, tracing a hand over her face. "Don't cry. I'm not worth crying over."

Kioko wiped at her eyes furiously. "I'm not crying. I just—something got in my eye."

"Of course." He was familiar with the excuse, but he wouldn't call her on it. It wasn't his place, and it wasn't worth it. He just...didn't want her to cry.

He let his hand fall to the side of her throat, angling her head to the side. Her eyes closed as he set his lips upon her. He felt one of her hands resting on his shoulder, fingers twisted in the fabric of his jacket. Her breath upon his cheek.

It wasn't really a normal kiss for him, those ones full of passion and fire and lust that he got from most of the women he was with. It wasn't a kiss that didn't mean anything, that was done when he was drunk and barely knew what he was doing. It was a kiss full of sweetness and sadness and was only the barest touching of lips. There was only feeling, only emotion, and then the kiss was over.

Kioko sat back, taking a deep breath. "You should go," she said, her voice hoarse. "You really should go, Gojyo-san."

He could almost hear her unsaid words. The _before I_ that would have followed, if she were that bold. She wouldn't say it, and for that he was grateful. So he stood, letting his hands slid down her arms so that his hands caught up hers.

"See me out?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself. Oh, well. It didn't matter. He wouldn't see her again, anyway.

She nodded, fingers tightening around his. "To make sure that Eshana doesn't kill you." She gave him a lopsided smile, though her eyes were still full of sadness.

He almost laughed at her remark. "That would be good." He began to walk towards the door, Kioko following close beside him. He wanted to draw her closer, but he didn't. He just led her along, the only contact between them their hands.

It was bright outside, the sun hitting his eyes and making him blink. Any cloud that had been in the sky before was gone, leaving only blue. Eshana still stood by the laundry, checking things to see if they were dry. But Vatsa, seeing his mother, hurried over and attached himself to her free hand.

"Mom?" He stared up at her, his eyes darting from her face to Gojyo's. "Mom, why are you sad?"

Kioko squeezed her son's hand, offering him a smile. "I'm not sad, Vatsa. I'm just saying goodbye to a friend." She turned to Gojyo, the smile fading. "And so I guess we have to say it. Goodbye, Gojyo-san. I hope life it good to you."

He held on for just a moment longer, then let his hand drop from hers. "Goodbye, Kioko." He wasn't one for long, drawn-out partings, so he left it at that and turned, beginning to walk away.

But only for about five steps, for as he neared the gate that would lead him to the main road, something hit him around the middle. He twisted his head around, looking down and seeing a shock of red hair. He heard Kioko's cry of _Vatsa_ and slowly disentangled the boy's arms from around his waist.

"Hey, kid," he said, crouching down so that he could see the boy more clearly. "What is it?"

"Don't leave." Vatsa was looking at the ground, his hands behind his back, and he spoke the words so quietly that he could barely hear him.

Gojyo frowned. "What?"

Vatsa looked up at him, his crimson eyes wide. "Don't leave. If you do, mom'll be sad again. I don't want her to be sad, so don't go."

Gojyo was silent for a moment, then he ruffled the boy's hair. "Your mom's strong, kid. She'll be all right. Besides, I know that you can take care of her, right? I bet you already do." Vatsa nodded, glancing back to where a red-faced Kioko stood. "As long as she has you and you're aunt, she'll be fine."

"But...but I don't like seeing her sad. She's sad so often, an' she seemed happier when you came. Please, mister, can't you stay?"

Gojyo shook his head. "I can't. I wish I could, but I can't. But remember what I just told you, kid. Take care of you're mom and she'll be fine. Got it?"

Vatsa nodded furiously. "Okay. I-I will."

Gojyo ruffled his hair again. "'kay. It'll be all right."

Vatsa backed up, his nerve gone now that he had said his part. He gave a small yelp as he ran into Kioko, then turned and buried his head in her stomach, mumbling something that Gojyo couldn't hear. He saw Kioko wrap her arms around her son, whispering something in turn. Then she looked up at him.

"It's all right," she said softly, still holding Vatsa. "You can go."

Gojyo turned completely around, walking toward her again. "See, now you're kid's made me feel like a jerk."

Kioko laughed at that. "Children having a way of doing that, don't they?"

"Yeah, they do."

Vatsa looked up at the two of them, confusion on his face. "Wha? What are you talking about?"

Kioko smoothed her hand over Vatsa's hair. "Nothing, sweetie. Don't worry about it, Gojyo. I know that you have to leave. So just...go."

Gojyo paused for a moment. "All right. Just a moment, though." He leaned forward, kissing her lightly on the cheek. His hand brushed her shoulder, and then he pulled back. "Goodbye again, Kioko. And you," he looked down at the little red-haired boy, "take care of you mom."

"I will!"

"Goodbye, Gojyo-san." Kioko smiled one last time, and then Gojyo turned and walked out of the yard and away from Kioko. He only paused to look back once, and then he was gone.

* * *

"Well, that was bad, don't you think?" 

Sanzo made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat, his jaw clenching. "Then why the hell are you smiling?"

Hakkai glanced toward him, the smile still on his face. "You must admit, it was amusing."

The priest scowled. "I admit nothing. I found nothing funny about that damn little--"

"Why are you so angry, Sanzo?" asked Goku from the back seat. He was leaning forward, resting his forearms on the back of Hakkai and Sanzo's seats so that he could hear what was going on more easily. "It's not like anything really happened."

"Shut it," Sanzo growled, crossing his arms over his waist. "I don't want to hear it."

Goku blinked in confusion. "But what did I do? I didn't ask for food; I just asked a question. Hakkai!"

"I don't think that Sanzo is in such a good mood, Goku. It would be best if you didn't bother him."

"Oh." Goku sat back in his seat. "All right."

In the front of the jeep, Sanzo scowled. "I don't need you interpreting my moods, Hakkai. And watch the road!" The last words were said in a tenser voice, as the jeep swerved to the right.

Hakkai jerked the wheel to the side, bringing the jeep back to the center of the road. "Sorry about that, Sanzo. Goku, could you check that everything is tied down securely back there?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure, Hakkai." The boy twisted around in his seat, making sure that things were where they should be. "Everythin's fine."

Hakkai smiled, though this time he kept his eyes on the road. "Thank you, Goku. We wouldn't want to leave town without making sure that we had enough food."

Goku's eyes grew wide. "Wha? We might not have enough food? I'll check, 'kay?" He reached for the cooler, determined to make sure that they actually had food.

"No, no, you don't need to do that." Hakkai's voice was laced with amusement. "I'm sure that it is all there. I just wanted you to make sure that nothing will fall out of the jeep if we turn a sharp corner."

"Oh. 'kay, then it's all fine." Goku pushed the cooler back in place, making sure that there was no way that it would fall out. Then he stretched out on the back seat, he feet pressing against the inside of the jeep, staring up at the sky. "Hey, it's quiet without Gojyo."

"It would be, if you would just shut up," Sanzo growled again. These past weeks hadn't been going well for him, and all he wanted was some peace and quiet where he _didn't_ have a headache.

"Ah, Sanzo, look on the bright side. At least there is no arguing," Hakkai pointed out. "Now, where did the innkeeper say Miss Kioko's house was?"

"There's no arguing because Gojyo's not here, and we're just going to go pick him up? What kind of fucking stupid idea is that?" Sanzo was still sitting partially hunched over in the front seat, thoroughly uncomfortable. At least the wound in his side had stopped hurting—mostly. If he moved to quickly the skin would stretch and pain would dart through him. If he moved quickly, which was why he was trying not to move at all.

There was a moment of silence before Hakkai spoke again. "Sanzo, I hope that you haven't forgotten what happened with Kami-sama--"

"Fine! Then let's just pick up the kappa and get out of this fucking town." He tapped a cigarette out of its pack and lit it, setting it to his lips and inhaling deeply.

"All right. Goku?"

"Yeah?" The boy was alert again, sitting up and looking at Hakkai. "What?"

Hakkai continued to drive along, though they weren't going very fast. "Please keep your eyes open for Gojyo."

"'kay, Hakkai. Hey...isn't that him?" Goku pointed to the left. Hakkai stopped the jeep and looked over.

"I'd say that is." They waited there until Gojyo walked over to them. "Hello, Gojyo."

Gojyo looked up. "Hey. We ready to go?"

"We've been ready to go for over an hour. Now, get your ass in the jeep," growled Sanzo. Gojyo glanced at him.

"Why's the priest in such a goddamn bad mood?" he asked, jumping into the back of the jeep, being careful to take up most of Goku's space.

"Hey! You cockroach, get on _your _side of the jeep! Gah!" Goku winced as Gojyo decided that he needed the entire back of the jeep to stretch out his legs. "Get your feet off me!" He punched at Gojyo's legs, trying to get them off of his lap. "Stupid perverted kappa!"

There was the clicking of Sanzo's gun from the front seat and they both froze. "Shut. The hell. Up."

"Damn, he's in a bad mood," Gojyo commented, moving to his own side of the jeep. Hakkai had already begun to drive, and they were steadily leaving the town. "But I've got something that might make him a little less bitchy. I got information on India."

It was Hakkai who spoke next, though his eyes stayed on the road. "What is it, Gojyo?"

Gojyo leaned back against the seat, stretching his arms above his head, clearly enjoying the fact that he knew something the others didn't. "There's gonna be mountains. Big, huge, mountains down near India."

"Tell that to someone who doesn't already know."

Gojyo sat forward quickly. "What the hell? You already knew about the mountains and you didn't tell us? You fucking priest!"

Sanzo loaded a few bullets into his gun and turned so that he was aiming it straight at Gojyo's head. "You didn't need to know. Now, sit down, shut up, and let's get the hell out of this town."

End  



End file.
